Stand the Hazard 4: Someone always pays the price
by KeelieThompson1
Summary: As Palpatine's Galactic Empire enters its second year, the Skywalker family struggles to find their way back to each other.
1. Chapter 1

**Someone always pays the price**

 **Chapter One**

AN: Fourth in the series of Stand the Hazard.

 _He dreamed._

 _They were in bed. A cool breeze coming through the window and the lakes of Naboo seen from the balcony. Padme lay next to him, curled up tight and he breathed her in, enjoying the clean smell of her, the flowered scent of her hair from the shampoo that she always used when they were in Naboo._

 _"Ani," she breathed, turning to him. Her lips sought out his skin, pressing to his shoulder, then his neck and then-_

 _A baby cried in the distance and she groaned into him. "She has your appetite," Padme complained and he laughed before he pressed a kiss to her head and rolled out of bed._

 _He padded down the hallway and into their daughter's room where his daughter lay, crying. She was fuzzy in his mind, a baby and perfect, but her features were indistinct and blurred. He scooped her up and into his arms-_

 _She simply wasn't there anymore._

 _When he turned, the room was a mess, blaster marks dotting the wall. The room didn't look as if it had ever been completed and it wasn't the right room and he turned, not sure what he was seeing even as words blurred in the distance._

 _He turned and saw Luke in the distance. Almost hidden, but there and he reached-_

Then the force, weak and feeble as the connection had been, collapsed away from him and his wrists ached and burned. He opened his eyes to see them taking away the old binders and there were new ones on his wrists.

He stared at the figure in front of him who stared down with a triumphant smile. "Thought we wouldn't notice you fiddling with 'em, eh?"

Anakin pushed himself up to his knees, panting as his mind struggled to adjust. The brief reminder of the force, of what he had been used to made him remember the pain of not having it again. The difference was overwhelming.

"Stand."

The order was emphasised with the whip being activated. The thing looked like a string of liquid gold and Anakin stared at it for a moment before he forced his shaking limbs to obey. It was harder without the force and he'd never realised how much strength normal people had when they couldn't rely on the force to help them.

Molec smirked at Anakin as he circled him. It was hard to keep himself straight and staring ahead but he'd learned how to play this game If Molec wanted to beat him, he would.

And one day, Anakin would wrap that krifin' whip around Molec's neck and watch him electrocute to death.

"She'll be punished," Molec warned. "Your apprentice. And she doesn't enjoy the favouritism that you do."

Favouritism?!

Anakin restrained the urge to snort at that. If he had any say in the matter, he'd never be on the receiving end of the Queen's favouritism.

He had his own cell. The Queen called it a room, but it was a cell, he'd been in enough to know one when he saw it. Locks on the door, his inability to fill it with anything other than what she allowed. There was a window that allowed some light to come through and for him to look out at the slave square below, but even that was its own form of torture.

If time travel was an option he'd go back and storm the place as a Jedi. He'd always been kept away from such places by the order, probably because Obi-Wan had understood that he'd never be able to deal with slavers in a calm and rational manner. But Tatooine had nothing on the Zygerrians. Tattooine was about trade and profit and work and it was foul and disgusting but anything more than that was rare. This was about pleasure and ease and the power of knowing that someone's life was in your hands. It was about labour and entertainment and easy pleasure and that the Jedi had allowed such an empire to grow was heinous.

A rough clawed hand grabbed his chin and Anakin forced himself not to respond.

"She'll bore of you," Molec promised. "And then I will take great pleasure in watching you suffer."

Anakin couldn't help but glance at the man before smirking and looking away.

It was worth the blow he received.

xxx

 **Kaller**

Leia was baffled by the puddle.

It had been funny at first. But Luke sat watching her jump into it for what had to be the twentieth time and then look around as the water splashed up and sunk into the ground around her. She'd almost created something that looked like a swamp in the metre square she was obsessed with.

"Luke," she said, pointing. Though he wasn't sure that she wasn't saying look because his sister was nothing if not bossy. "Splash," she announced with glee.

"Yep," he agreed. "Same as it has the past hour."

She nodded and looked down at her feet, shaking each one daintily as if to try and get rid of the water, before placing the foot back in the puddle.

Everyone said his sister was clever for her age. He was pretty sure that was only because they didn't see half the dumb stuff she did. A little bored, he pressed the end of the stick he was holding into the ground and then watched as the mud welled up, starting to fill the hole instantly.

"Rain?" Leia asked, squinting up at the sky.

"It doesn't come on command," Luke muttered.

"Want rain," she said in a voice that sounded like she was trying to be reasonable. He sighed and looked up at the sky and then shrugged at her.

She watched him for a moment and then toddled over, abandoning the puddle to stand between his knees where he was sat on the edge of a tree stump. Wide brown eyes stared at him for a moment and then she scowled and touched his hair. "No."

Yeah, he didn't like it either. But Mom had dyed his hair because apparently that made it easier to hide them. His hair was now darker then Leia's and his Mom's but it would fade a little in the sunlight, Mom had said.

She'd reapplied it three times since they'd left Jedha. It was enough to make him want to go back.

"Yuck," he said, reaching out and tugging a strand of her hair. But Leia giggled at that and pulled his hair too, radiating joy at the silly game.

A flicker of surprise crossed his awareness and he startled, staring at the village. The Kallerans were going about business as usual while Mom sat in with the elders. He wasn't sure what had caught his attention but there was definitely something.

Then he spotted it.

In the corner, a boy was staring at him. A human male, older than Luke and dressed as a smuggler. Luke tilted his head, trying to work out where he knew him from…

The temple.

It was a flickering memory, one that he had mostly forgotten, but the force compensated the memory. Luke, seven years old and holding Dad's hand tightly as they walked out after a session with Master Yoda. A boy five years older was practising with a lightsabre and Luke remembered being fascinated by it. And then Dad had noticed him watching and had tucked Luke in close, pulling him up to sit on Dad's hip.

"Look fun?" Dad had asked.

Luke had hummed, then tucked his head into Dad's neck.

But it was definitely the same boy.

A jedi youngling.

Luke stood, and Leia let out an annoyed noise as he placed himself between her and the boy, regardless of that fact that the boy was on the opposite side of the village. He didn't react as the boy walked closer to him, but was suddenly very aware of where Leia was.

"I know you," the boy said as he got close. "From the temple…" he blinked down at Leia, then turned to where Mom was having her meeting before his eyes widened. "You're-"

Luke flapped his hands and, miraculously, the boy shut up. But he didn't stop staring.

"My master thought you were dead," the boy whispered. "Or had been found by a sith lord. And with the purge-"

Shrugging, Luke ducked down to lift Leia into his arms, just in case. "Mom's taking care of it," he said. Then took a breath. "So you know who I am-"

"Luke," Leia announced in a gleeful shout that made Luke want to roll his eyes. "yes," he agreed with his sister, glaring at her. "But who are you?"

"Kanan," the boy said after a moment. "I go by Kanan now."

Xxx

"A jedi Padawan?" Mom asked as they ate in the cabin that night. "He would have been very young to be a Padawan."

It wasn't as if he knew enough about being a Jedi to comment on that. "His master died here," Luke relayed. "He was taken in by one of the Kallerans. I don't think he's used the force since."

Mom sighed. "I wonder how many more there are like him." She rocked Leia who was almost asleep in her arms, eyes fixated on the flames they were gathered around. "You said you remembered him?"

"In passing," Luke said. "In the temple when Dad…" he trailed off and then looked at her. "I guess he remembers me because of who I was with. Must have been the only Jedi gossip they had."

Mom raised an eyebrow but didn't correct him. Then she shook her head. "As long as he's safe. Perhaps I can mention it to Bail. See if a Jedi can come and see him, check if Kanan would like to leave."

Sounded reasonable.

"Are they going for it?" Luke asked. "The Kallerans? You said that they used to complain that there was no difference between the separatists and the republic."

"Yes, as they have reminded me. They seem more interested in taking praise for being oddly right in a way. I…I think it will take more time than I have, but at least they are aware of us. They key to this seems to be not pushing." Mom shifted Leia again who mumbled something and turned fully into her. "Not my speciality."

Luke grinned at that.

Xxx

The next day, Mom kept hold of Leia which was a relief to both of them because it meant Luke was free to explore and that Leia wouldn't end the day drenched in mud. And so, Luke stood at the edge of the hill that led down to the village and took in a breath. As much as he loved Jedha, he'd missed the feel of water and trees and seeing the lush greenness that made him smile. And here, it was easier to feel the humming life of everything that was connected to the force, to feel his part in it and sink in slowly.

"You know I could teach you how to meditate in the Jedi way?"

Luke blinked and then turned to Kanan. "What? Close my eyes and count to a hundred? Why?"

"You don't-" Luke tried not to grin at the exasperated sigh. "That's not how it works," Kanan said as he stepped up next to Luke.

"This works for me," Luke said, shrugging. "Besides, aren't you like a smuggler now?"

Kanan looked away, clearly torn about something. "Your Mom's looking for you," he said, nodding down at the village.

Sure enough, Mom had come out of her conference that she was holding and had shielded her eyes to look up at him. The 'come here' gesture was clearly being waved at him.

Maybe she hadn't meant the forest was included when he'd asked if he could have a look around the village.

So he stuck his hands up in the air and mimed ten at her, then turned to Kanan. "Guess we'd better head back."

He couldn't help but sneak a look at the older boy as they walked together. It was the first time in a long time that he'd been able to talk to a boy that might understand all of what Luke dealt with and they'd barely had a chance to speak. And at least Luke had Mom and Leia and Gregar and Satine when he saw them. Kanan had barely anyone.

But then, he was older. He was sixteen to Luke's eleven and Luke had to crane his neck to look up at him. He was really tall now. And his hair was pulled back into a ponytail as if he were trying to look a bit rakish.

Well, that was what Mom had muttered with some amusement. Luke wasn't entirely sure what the word meant, but Leia had started to babble the word to anyone who would listen and wasn't that gonna be annoying?!

"Did you ever hear from anyone?" Luke asked curiously as they walked down the path. "The Jedi?"

Kanan shook his head. "I guess they figured I'd died with my master." He slanted another gaze at Luke. "You sure you'd want me to tell you? Your Mom doesn't seem all that keen."

"She worries too much," Luke muttered, kicking at a stone. Then he risked a glance at Kanan again. "Do you know why?"

The teenager nodded. "They think you'll start something new. End the Jedi and the Sith."

In his mind, Luke could practically feel the pleasure that Vader felt at the idea. He looked away and resisted the urge to close his eyes in case Kanan knew what he was doing.

Instead, he showed Vader the image of blast proof doors in as pointed a way as he could manage. His father retreated slightly after a warm brush across his mind and then vanished from Luke's awareness.

Well, hid.

Luke could never quite figure out how he felt about it all.

"The Jedi are gone and the sith are…" Luke shrugged. "Not sure it'd be that hard to replace them. Everyone seems to have their own idea about what each mean."

Kanan actually nodded at that. Then stopped, poised.

There was something… Luke looked around, halting as he sensed something. Like a flash of movement out the corner of his eyes, it was enough to tell him that something wasn't right, but he couldn't figure out what.

Kanan reached out a hand and pulled Luke close, hand reaching for his blaster.

"We're being followed," he whispered.

Luke twisted around, trying to listen and reach out. "Wait," he said, turning in the direction he felt a sudden flutter come from. "I think-"

The stun blast was the last thing he saw.

xxx

He'd been stunned. It was the first conscious thought he had as he swum back to awareness within the confines of his own mind.

Being stunned kinda hurt!

"Yes," a deep voice rumbled. Vader sounded as unhappy about it as one could be.

Shape formed in Luke's mind. He recognised Coruscant, the view. They were stood on a balcony that he sort of remembered and sometimes he could almost feel Mom's presence there, as if Vader had captured her at some point.

He kept his distance, just a little bit. Instead, he stepped close to the balcony edge and stared out at the city planet he had once called home.

"What did it look like?" Luke asked quietly. "When it was Imperial Centre."

He could feel the hesitation from Vader. Then there was the echo of a sigh and the view changed. The balcony changed and it was no longer the apartment that Mom had owned when Luke had first turned up in the past. Instead, they were at a military base and everything was far more uniform. Humans seemed to be the predominant species and the symbol of the empire was everywhere.

Luke stepped closer without realising it and then startled when he realised how close he suddenly was to Vader. The figure didn't move, and seemed almost to be frozen.

Luke turned his attention back to the view, a welling sadness building up within him. That was what it was like now. It wasn't right. He wanted it to still be the place that Mom had shown him with a gentle smile and detailed explanations about the things that were important to everyone. Where Ahsoka had snuck him food from every planet imaginable and played sith versus Jedi with him.

Where Dad had walked him along the streets and everyone had known his face. And Dad had pointed at the stars and whispered to him about where they would go and explore when the war was finally over.

He could feel Vader's mood plummet and, for a second there was lava and screaming and bodies and pain-

Luke tried to pull away, but the usual paths weren't working and he wasn't opening his eyes.

Then they were on Mom's balcony again.

"I'm not waking up," Luke whispered.

"You were stunned," Vader said without inflection. "I imagine you have also been injected with something for transport."

Transport?

"Where am I going?"

Vader tilted his head. "I do not know," he said, and there was a burning frustration in his words. "They were…"

Luke glanced up at him when he trailed off. For a moment he saw it all again, the forest and Kanan turning and the faintest glimpse of an odd shaped shadow in the depths of the forest shadows.

Then he was somewhere else. In the Jedi Temple of Courascant as it had been but not in his own memory. Instead, it had to be Vader's. And Dad and Ahsoka were talking and there was a holo up with Trandoshans-

Vader's anger almost overwhelmed him and Luke gasped feeling any protection that he'd had start to waver. He backed away, trying to find somewhere to hide, but Vader controlled this part of his mind and it was impossible to stand against that storm.

He woke to a body that wasn't ready to wake. His limbs wouldn't obey him and his head felt fuzzy and heavy. Muffled by the dimmed awareness of his body. A cage swum before his eyes and it took a few minutes for him to work out that the cage was one that surrounded him rather than one in front of him.

Double bars in his vision confused him for longer until he realised it meant that there was another cage. Another body.

His mind swum, rebelling against his attempt to force himself awake and away from Vader's fury. The world blurred once more and this time, he fell into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

 _When he'd woken up the first time it had been so cold. And empty. He didn't know how else to explain the complete mental agony of expecting to wake after only a few hours of being in carbonite and to have the force. The fact that neither of those things were true made him gasp and struggle and grip onto the hand that reached for him._

 _He didn't need the force to know it was Ahsoka that reached for him._

 _They'd both been blind. Both alone in the cells; he had no idea if the clones has been woken or taken at that point._

 _"Where are we?"_

 _"I don't know," Ahsoka had whispered back. "I don't know what went wrong."_

 _They'd never found that out._

The next time that Luke woke it was because of his sister. There was a terrible moment when he saw the cage and felt her that he thought she was with him, but she felt distant. Scared.

Annoyed.

For a two year old, Leia could convey annoyance worryingly well.

He reached out and wrapped her up in his shields without thought because she was broadcasting too much and too loudly and that was like a homing beacon. He sent her an image of the ship and the mental equivalent of a shrug and then wished her good luck conveying that to Mom.

Stars, Mom had probably hit the roof now.

The cage he was in was underneath a walkway and he could hear footsteps on the section above. He was under the deck and there were cages everywhere, though only a few of them were full. Shifting, Luke looked around and then fixated on the cage opposite him.

"Kanan?"

The boy didn't move and Luke stifled a frustrated groan. He poked his fingers through the cage wires, more to experiment that he wouldn't get a shock than anything else. When nothing happened, he clung to them and then stretched a little, trying to rotate the ache out from his shoulders.

And reached out.

There were three life forms that felt at ease and confident. And six that were scared or unconscious. The ship wasn't large, just bulky and that meant it struggled to manoeuvre and he could feel the creaks in the engine as it struggled with some of the controls.

He'd been stunned in the back and he was sure he'd have bruises. He could feel the blood struggle to flow with the swelling; nothing major but enough to let him know the area would be tender.

Leia's mind hit him again with all the delicate feeling of her stomping her feet and an image of Mom throwing something across the cabin which made Luke lose focus for a second.

Since when did Mom throw things?

 _I don't know_ he said firmly. _It's a ship. How should I know where I'm going?_

Well…there was one way. But he wasn't exactly keen on testing Vader's temper again. And Vader would only be able to guess on information that was years out of date and now in the wrong timeline.

Leia was too little to understand that. But she huffed at him so he figured she got the gist. As far as his sister was concerned, he was being annoying because he wasn't there and Mom was angry about it.

Luke cast a glance out across those in the cages once more. Those who weren't unconscious looked like they were faking it and he left them alone, unwilling to get them into trouble if they'd been around the ship longer and had learnt a few tricks.

A shadow fell across the cages as something walked above and Luke twisted and turned so that he could peer up through the bars. The Trandoshan was wearing heavy boots and making that almost snarly gurgle noise at the back of his throat that Luke could remember from having had one of their kind on board a ship once when he'd been with Obi-Wan. Or not with him but…the other timeline.

Wow, was it weird to even think that now.

But he knew their kind. Could remember that someone had made a joke about the Trandoshan (what had his name been?!) because there had been an outpost a while ago in which Trandoshans had hunted children. Dour (Luke had never known if that had been the captain's real name) had suggested that the Tranoshan hunt Luke up and down the ship if he were bored.

The Trandoshan had sworn at them all and stomped off. Apparently insulted by the remark. But these Trandoshans…yeah, these might have been the ones that Dour had been talking about. In which case, he was about to be hunted for sport.

"Well? What's the problem?"

"There's something wrong with the hyperdrive," one hissed.

The response to that was a snarl and some clanging.

Luke nearly reached to rap on the bars and draw their attention but something… he frowned and tried to search out what the feeling was, but couldn't quite grasp it. Only it felt like…

Like _not yet._

If they had to land and find someway to make repairs then perhaps he might have a chance to escape. And it might be close enough to Kaller that Mom could just slip in, grab him and the rest and then slip out again.

Maybe.

Seemed better than helping them to get to their destination though.

xxx

The Queen's throne room was built to demonstrate power. It was a long narrow room that led towards the throne that was raised high up with exactly twenty three steps up to get to it.

Anakin knew, he'd been forced to climb them many times before so that he could kneel directly in front of her while she studied him.

Behind the throne, the large windows allowed light to come in, bathing the Queen as if she was some kind of goddess. Often, her pet birds would perch on her shoulders or on the posts around her adding flashes of colour to the otherwise monotone golds and silvers.

"The cuffs?" she asked as she fed the bird on the perch to her right. "Again?"

Anakin said nothing. Really, what did she expect him to say?

When he glanced up, she was staring down at him. Her russet fur and ears catching the light in a way that almost made her look like she was a flame above him. She had a delicately pointed face and a long neck emphasised by the golden hoops around it. Ironically, he thought it looked like she wore her own damned collar, but he knew enough now about their culture to know that a long neck and lifted chin were considered attractive features.

"You know I dislike it when I do not get an answer," she said after a moment. The six guards, three lining either side shifted as if to make him answer, though how they thought they could get him to do that he would never know.

"Yes," he said tightly. "I tried to escape. Again."

"The fifth or fourth time now?"

"Sixth," Anakin said tonelessly.

"Hm," she said, lowering her hands so that both arms rested fully on the throne. Her clawed nails tapped at the metal it was made from and force did that have to be an uncomfortable chair to sit in.

He hoped she hated every second she had to sit in that thing.

Then her fingers edged closer to the control pad that she had and Anakin drew in a steady breath, bracing himself for the electrocution that was likely to follow.

Was it possible to build up a tolerance to such a thing? If there were, he hadn't yet got to that stage.

Something to look forward to, he thought bitterly as he watched her finger hover over one of the buttons.

Then she turned her finger and beckoned him. Steeling himself, Anakin started the ascent to her throne, pausing on the penultimate step and kneeling down. He was close enough that she rested her claws on his hair and he stared intently at the patterns of her blue gown.

She started to card her hands through his hair and he pushed his own hands into the metal below him. It wouldn't have surprised him if he'd managed to put dents in the force-forsaken thing, tense as he was.

He hated her. With everything he had, he despised her.

"We are going to be entertained today," she murmured. "A battle in the ring. Perhaps you might glimpse a familiar face."

He couldn't help but snap his head up to meet her eyes and the amused smile that tilted her lips upwards. With whip-like precision, her hands moved from his hair to his chin and forced him to arch his neck.

"I don't believe she still looks as pretty as you do," the Queen breathed. "Still, perhaps you might find a way to persuade me to show mercy today."

Xxx

By the time Kanan was starting to wake up properly, the Trandoshans were having a proper argument above Luke. And, for Trandoshans, that meant claws were out and spittle was flying as they snapped and snarled at each other.

Luke peered up, half curious and half grossed out by it. But mostly baffled that they were still arguing despite the fact that they hadn't even bothered to look at the hyperdrive yet.

"Where are we?" Kanan whispered, crawling over so that he was as close to Luke as he could manage in his cage.

"No idea," Luke said, not bothering to really lower his voice. The Trandoshans seemed unaware of anything but their argument. Then he looked over. "How's your head?"

Kanan nodded, rubbing the back of it as if Luke had just reminded him. "They drugged us," he hissed, clearly frustrated by the idea. "How long have we been out?"

Luke shook his head. "I can still feel Leia," he said. "But…I've never really not been with her since she was born so I have no idea about how far our range is. She's…she feels far away…" He bit at his lip and it was impossible when he was thinking about her not to reach out to brush her mind, however much it felt now like he was just reaching out for a holo version of her. "Trandoshans captured us," he said, nodding his head up.

Kanan crawled a little, head angled up and clearly trying to get a better look at what was going on. "Two?"

"Three," Luke said. Then he glanced at Kanan's expression. "They're armed," he warned. But Kanan kept his eyes fixed upwards and didn't say a word.

A warning alarm started to echo from the cockpit and Luke twisted, eyes fixed on the controls as it finally stopped the argument.

"We need to land," one snapped.

"Fine," the other replied, stomping around. "Land. See how helpful they are."

Luke almost groaned in frustration. Would it really have killed them to have been more specific?

Xxx


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

They'd landed ages ago.

The Trandoshans had let them out of the cages in twos and allowed them to use the fresher, and there was part of Luke that suddenly felt deeply suspicious about that because if they were just to be hunted then who cared what they were covered in or smelled like.

The mutters of 'trade' had made Luke's vision almost double as Vader raged in his head. And, in truth the situation was starting to feel less and less like his childhood spent being treated like illegal cargo.

The worst thing was that he could barely concentrate now. As they were moved and talked over and discussed, Vader was like a throbbing beat of fury in his head. It had been growing steadily worse since the discussion among the Trandoshans had started, but Luke wasn't exactly sure how much more he could take of it.

Pointedly ignoring the worried glances that Kanan was shooting his way, Luke curled his knees to his chest and placed his head down into the crook her created, then closed his eyes.

The apartment had changed when he got to Vader's corner of his mind. It wasn't as Luke remembered it, there was no feeling of Mom there at all. Instead, it looked trashed. Objects were crumpled into scraps in the corner and the wind from Coruscant's traffic whipped through Luke as the windows were shattered and cracked. The entire place was dark, lit only from the lights outside which cast long looming shadows.

Luke spotted something and frowned at it, baffled. Kneeling slowly, he lifted the material from the floor and stared at it.

"It was the only one your mother bought," Vader's mechanical voice echoed.

It was a baby toy. Soft and plush, it was a Tooka, all round and purple with its long-pointed ears and thin stubby legs.

"Mom bought loads of stuff," Luke muttered, looking up at the figure that approached.

The masked face stared at him and then flickered, becoming that hooded figure that sometimes Luke found more dangerous. "In this time," Vader said. "However, that should have been yours."

Oh.

He stared down at it, rubbing his thumb over the toy again and then looked around the apartment once more. "You did this," he whispered. "In…in our time. You did this."

"I…" Vader looked away, towards the wide-open end of the apartment that should have been all glass windows and doors. "I had mourned your mother," he said slowly. "This…" he turned his head back to the toy, "was when I realised I had killed you too."

Killed?

Luke stared at him, a horrible suspicion forming. But he couldn't ask because honestly, he didn't want to hear the answer. Not when Mom and Leia were so far away.

"Why are we here?" Luke whispered, wishing suddenly he could lock the door and never feel the man again. But…sometimes Vader was…

He didn't want to be alone.

"Their discussion," Vader said stiffly, not moving. "Do you know where they have landed, what they are planning on doing to get their hyperdrive fixed?"

Luke shook his head. "You keep pounding in my mind," he muttered. "I can't concentrate."

There was a very long silence. "You are scared."

Luke clenched his hand around the toy, oddly protective of it suddenly because if there were two men that he could call father than that meant the same for Mom and this maybe the only object he would ever know about that the woman that had given birth to him, at least, had still been as good as Mom.

"Killed me too?"

Vader seemed almost like he'd been turned to stone. And there was a distant whisper _'you're breaking my heart'_

"I lost my temper," Vader said eventually. "She brought Jedi with her to arrest me. I choked her while she was pregnant with you and your sister. I was later told that I had killed her with that act. You must have been delivered soon after while I was injured-"

What?

Luke shook his head. "Mom lived to name us. I saw it. Obi-Wan…" Sweet force, his mind really was screwed up. He couldn't bring the image in, didn't know how to in the automatic way that Vader seemed to. "He left his memories in me, somewhere. I saw it. Dad saw it."

Vader let out a stunned breath and reached out to hold onto something, as if forgetting this was all in Luke's mind. And something in the room eased suddenly, lightened a little.

He'd choked her? Vader'd choked Mom so badly that he'd thought he'd killed her.

Luke looked down at the toy and his vision of it blurred a little.

Then he looked up.

"Luke-"

Luke pulled out of Vader's room so viciously he almost threw up when he opened his eyes. And he pictured blast doors and chains. And then-

 _Slam it in a metal box. Wrap it up in energy beams. Lock it in a ship. Send it out to space where you can't see. Always keep it hidden_.

This, he knew how to do.

Even when they took him and Kanan and the others out into the burning sunlight and put chains on their wrists

Xxx

The slave ring was something that Anakin despised. More so, because more often than not, he felt like one of the Zygerians whenever he was there.

It was like the pit on Geonoses in a way. Crowds gathered to auction for slaves and to see the tests that proved the slaves were worth the money being paid. For warriors, which was slowly becoming the more profitable slaves, that meant a battle.

Sometimes it meant a battle to the death. Sometimes, it meant he was sent down there to see how long a slave would last. Under a certain time and the slave's worth would plummet. And he'd fight with the whispered threats in his ear about Ahsoka and Rex and the others. Sometimes she'd dangle the promise of him seeing Obi-Wan, even if he was still frozen.

She never did let him see his former master. Anakin was even starting to doubt that she even had the man but…

But without the force, he couldn't be sure. And he hated that he didn't take the risk. Hated that he so desperately wanted to see his son, his wife, meet his daughter that he did nothing but wait.

There were other days too. Days when he watched and didn't go down and someone else would be used to test the slaves' abilities.

Ahsoka.

He stood on the Queen's balcony, helmet on so it was almost impossible to see who he was, but the collar proved he was property and the cuffs that proved he once had used the force. He stood to the left of the Queen's throne, looking down at the pit that actually wasn't that much lower down. He could have jumped it easily without the cuffs.

"Are you eager to see her?" the Queen asked, as she reclined in her throne. This one was softer and less grand but it still set his teeth on edge.

A jolt around his neck, made him clench his teeth a little more. "Yes," he said, because that was the truth. Seeing her would let Anakin know that she still lived. That there was an ally.

Or-

That thought was so terrible and selfish that he barely allowed it to form. Instead, he let his gaze flick to the screens that would show close ups of the slaves as they were being auctioned or punished or tested.

It would give him more information about Ahsoka than anything else would.

"I was considering," she said slowly, "Three on one or four on one?"

Anakin stared ahead. Ahsoka was an impressive warrior and young enough to be energetic, but she would suffer as he did from the fact they were used to fighting with the force to boost them. And lightsabres. Four on one would have had him slightly worried and watching out for her, but the average fighters wouldn't have taken her down with those odds. Even three was a worry now.

He opened his jaw a little, slightly surprised by the ache that he felt. "What are the factors in your consideration?" he asked mechanically.

She stood, her golden bracelets jangling from the movement and from the slight breeze they had situated a little higher up than the rest. He refused to move and the guards by the doors watched him closely.

She pressed her hand to his chest in a propriety sweep and he almost closed his eyes before he looked at the sky behind her.

"You are the Jedi knight that broke the code," she purred at him. "You cannot tell me that you do not feel passions."

"For my wife," he said tightly. "Only for my wife."

The hand drifted lower to his stomach and he hated how many were watching him closely. "I could tell you what I know," she offered, and he could feel her stare on his face. "Let your apprentice have a rest."

He stayed still and didn't respond. She started to move behind him, the hand that she'd left on his stomach trailing around to his right side, his back and then his left.

Still he said nothing.

"Four on one," she called to the guards, sounding peevish and annoyed as she finally took her hands away. "You would rather see her suffer than have me elevate you in such a way?"

"I don't trust you," he said, staring at the sky still. "I've been a slave before. Masters always do as they please, no matter what games and rules they pretend to play."

"I am your Queen."

He snorted at that.

"Make it five," she snapped, as she stomped back to her throne.

She wouldn't. It was the small amount of power that he had. Ahsoka was the key to his almost obedience. She couldn't be killed or wounded too badly because they all knew he was impetuous and would react and, for whatever reason made sense in the Queen's head, she was currently fixated on Anakin being her willing warrior, champion and lover.

He dropped his gaze down as the first batch of slaves were presented and then lifted his eyes when he saw it was the Trandoshans making their usual attempt at trade for whatever idiotic problem they had now.

Children.

Force, how he hated it.

The sales for the children went through relatively quickly as no-one really bothered about the price, though there was a bit of battering for the oldest human in the bunch. Then came those with a trade. Stone workers and carvers were in demand for the royal palace and so that passed along quickly as the Zyggerians were unwilling to barter with the palace for too long.

He stood for hours. No water, no food until the warriors were brought out. It was sheer torture not to react when he saw Ahsoka again for the first time in roughly a month. She was so thin, but his Snips still had that stubborn set to her jaw that Anakin was pretty sure Obi-Wan had taught them both. He could see old scars on her, but she was almost pure muscle now in a hard and roughened way and she didn't have the same desperation as the four that surrounded her.

"She could be bathing now, attended and loved."

Anakin allowed himself one glimpse of a close up of Ahsoka's face. Ahsoka had learned the hard way, he thought as he watched the battle below. Her style was changing, adapting and she was becoming less defensive. There was a cleanliness to her blows, going for maximum damage to end the fight as quickly and as painlessly as possible.

He wavered.

But…

Years ago he knew he would have done it. Without hesitation with the desperation that he would control the situation, somehow. But he was a father, a husband and he had learned to control his gut reactions, to look a little ahead.

And he would do anything to save Ahsoka, but that. The idea of being with anyone other than Padme…

"What happens to her is your decision," he said, staring ahead. "It's all your decision."

"I am trying to break you from your slavish obedience to the corrupt ideals they have filled your head with. With me-"

"I'm your slave," Anakin said, a little heatedly this time. "You are not my equal."

"Say the word and it would change."

"No," Anakin said. "It wouldn't."

Below him, there was a bellow from the crowd as two of the warriors made it past whatever arbitrary time limit the slavers had set. Ahsoka backed away and stood waiting as the auction restarted, buyers now satisfied apparently, with what they were buying.

For a brief moment, his eyes connected with hers. Even at the distance, they gave the smallest nod, an indication that they'd seen each other and were still waiting for the perfect opportunity.

It would come.

It had to.

Xxx

The palace was terrifying.

"This?" A Zygerrian said as she griped Luke's chin with one hand and turned his face from side to side. "This is what you thought to bring me?"

The other Zygerrian, a more golden-brown male, shrugged. "For the budget you gave me? And you should have seen the other options. It's fine. The Queen likes humans."

The female threw Luke back and he stumbled a little, before regaining his footing. The chains between his wrists were heavy enough that he struggled for a second or two.

Chains. That still hadn't sunk in properly yet. There were chains on his wrists and he'd been sold. They'd inspected his teeth and his height had been tutted over and then had made him turn and turn and turn.

Slavery.

Another came towards him and gripped him by the throat. Helpless, Luke watched with wide eyes as a collar was brought closer and closer to him. It looked thick and heavy and something in him distantly screamed as it settled around his throat.

He pushed the sensation in his mind away, refusing to even think its name. By the time he had, the collar had clamped shut around his neck and was a heavy presence on him.

It made Luke gasp and he glanced around him at the three Zygerrians that had gathered.

"You are a member of the royal household," the female said, stroking her thumb over the control pad on the table before picking it up. "Should you fail a command…"

Pain crashed over him stealing his breath and making him fall to the ground as sparks flickered around the corners of his eyes. He shook and then the electricity was gone and he could breathe again.

"Unless of course, you annoy us more than you're worth," she added. "And believe me, boy. You are not worth much." She turned her attention behind Luke. "Take him down to the kitchen master and prepare him. I'll have him back in a week." She looked down at Luke again. "If you can't serve by then I'll find a way to get my money back, one way or the other."

Luke nodded, keeping his head down and already reaching out with the force. The collar had a mechanism and he could unlatch it easily. The problem was the three adults around him and the fact that he had no intention of leaving without Kanan.

His Dad wouldn't leave someone behind, his real Dad. So there was no way that Luke was doing it.

A distance howl in his mind made him slam the monster away even tighter.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The kitchens were hot and smoke filled. The Zygerrians seemed to like meat cooked over a flame and the heat of it made Luke sure that he could see heat lines, something he only kinda remembered from his time on Tatooine. Slaves worked the spits and the fires, burns cascading up their arms and faces from the sizzling fat that spat back at them.

He was quick and nimble and that served Luke well. He watched closely as they showed him how to place dishes down so that the meal made sense and how to fix small problems that might occur. The squeeze of a certain fruit or a flick of salt that he was to carry on him at all times.

They made the food spicy and they gave the slaves gruel. One of the Zygerrian chefs, a make called Bogdan gleefully boasted that it was always easy to tell which slaves stole food from what came out of them the next day.

There were whispers that the last time it had happened, the slave had been roasted on the fire and served up as meat for the others.

Luke was certain it wasn't a joke. Across from him, an old Twi'Lek male dipped his head and stared at nothing as he stoked the fire, radiating sorrow.

At night, when the kitchens had been cleared down and mostly emptied (there were always some in there to wait in case any of the head Zygerrians wanted anything), they were lead to the cellars underneath where it was freezing at night. More often than not, at least two people were sick from the sudden temperature change, especially at the beginning.

Vomiting was a waste of water though, everyone knew that.

It unnerved him how much came back to him. Tattoine survival lessons, even if they had been brief or mainly given to him via lectures from Uncle Owen. His own memories of time being shipped around from crew to crew and needing to be useful and find a way of being liked.

It was early when he was yanked up from the stone floor, feet skidding frantically as he blinked sleepily up at the Zygerrian female who studied him in the dim light.

"How has he been?" she asked.

Luke blinked and then squinted, trying to work out if it was the same female that had sent him to the kitchens days ago.

"He'll do," Fyodor said reluctantly. The Zygerrian looked almost a little peeved at the situation. "Boy learns quick. And he's quiet."

Luke glanced back at the female. As if sensing him, she turned her gaze back to him and they stared at each other.

Then she hit him.

He couldn't really move his head with the blow given that she was holding him by the scruff of the neck. Her clawed fingers almost cupped one side of his jaw and she didn't let him dodge or go with the blow. Pain erupted and he heard the sickening noise of flesh meeting flesh and his bone.

"Do not stare at your betters," she scolded. Then huffed. "He will not look as pretty now."

When Luke snuck a peek, Fyodor looked as bemused as he felt. "Perhaps we should limit blows to places where it will not affect the aesthetics."

The Zyggerian female hummed at that. "Come," she said, finally letting him go.

Luke scampered behind her, taking care not to tread on any of the people that were pretending to still be sleeping. Then they exited the cellars and went up a winding staircase that made the female swear under her breath.

They exited through a hidden door, one that blended perfectly with the square patterned design that seemed to run through the palace up above. Then Luke was in a long open hallway with great columns and golden everything, accented with blue.

The floor was smooth under his bare feet and at times became mosaics that probably depicted some scene from Zygerrian history which Luke would have stopped to peer at but kinda guessed wouldn't be wise. Their pace was brisk and the female was in a terrible mood.

She took him to a smaller door that was hidden about two minutes away. Inside, Luke blinked at the bath tub that sat in the centre, filled with water that looked like it had already been used.

"Strip," the female ordered. "You cannot go like that before the heads and the Queen."

Shrugging, Luke stripped off the ragged shirt and trousers that they had given him and hopped into the cold bath. Shivering a little, he took the thick, clay like soap that was handed to him and did the best he could. There was a moment of panic when someone dipped his head under, but then they started to scrub at his hair too.

Within ten minutes, he was out again, dressed in clear, simple clothes and having his hair rubbed dry.

"It is bruising," Fyodor complained as he turned Luke's face to the light. He at least was slightly careful to not press on the most painful parts. "You think it is broken, boy?"

Luke shook his head. Fyodor didn't look convinced, but left it alone.

"Does it still smell?" the female asked.

A cloud of perfume was aimed at him, and Luke coughed and spluttered.

"You will follow the slaves today and mimic them. Watch them. Be as their slave," the female instructed. "The Queen likes to see humans serve her and those around her. You can do well at this."

Luke nodded, glancing around the room as she stepped away. There was a small rectangular window above him, but nothing useful.

A quick rap around his head refocused his attention, and he turned obediently.

He was led back through the huge hall and he risked a glance at the open end, but all he could see was the horizon and some ships taking off like dots moving across his vision. The palace had to be high up but at least he could see where ships were.

And now, he was going back to the kriffin' kitchens.

xxx

On this side of the kitchen was odd. They did a weird practise with kitchen masters and Luke felt that the female was watching him like he was prey.

He did as he was told.

Then, he was loaded up with dishes and following a Togruta woman. The plates were uncomfortably warm, but he had a feeling that any protests or attempt to relieve the burning pressure wouldn't be greeted well.

"Are we serving the Queen?" he whispered.

The female ahead of them heard and barked out a laugh. "You have not earned that honour yet. You serve her head of the families." She looked back at him. "You may be in her presence though as we go through. Do not look at her."

Yeah, he'd kinda learned that lesson.

It felt like an endless amount of steps to get to the top of the palace. And then the double doors, engraved with gold and rubies, opened.

They were in a sort of antechamber that led to a huge room beyond columns and veiled drapes. Beyond, Luke could see shadowed figures and he guessed that the Queen was being entertained in some way.

A table was being set up and Luke let the bowls be taken from him, trying not to sigh in relief.

"Come," the Togurta summoned him. "You will need to learn where it all goes."

And there was a lot to learn. Strange dishes and configurations. Wine and glasses and it all had to gleam.

Luke nearly jumped when the Zygerrians came through the veil, or rather one was pulled back like a curtain. He shot a panicked look around and then followed suit when the other slaves stepped back.

There were six of them all together and, beyond, the Queen sat at her own table with what Luke guessed were her favourites. There were two guards on either side of her.

Someone pinched his side. "Stop staring," the Togruta hissed in Luke's ear.

He nodded and dipped his head down low, hating how it pressed the collar to his skin and made him bare his nape. There was another tremor within him, but these were getting less and less.

The three other slaves around the table were attentive, pouring wine and accepting dishes from those who ran them up. And, as the wine flowed, the Zygerrians started to get a little freer with their paws, absently stroking a bare thigh or their arms disappearing under fabric.

Luke honestly didn't know what to think of it except that something felt wrong and uncomfortable.

After they had eaten, the men returned to the main room for further entertainment and the veils fell again, but this time some of the slave girls went with them. Luke sort of assumed that would be it, except, one by one, the guards came in to pick at the leavings.

The first guard was a Zygerrian himself, huge and muscled and miserable. He snapped at everyone and tore into the meat in a way that was kinda gross. The wine had been removed, but his eyes scanned each glass as if he were a dying man on Tatooine looking for water.

When he left, the Togruta relaxed, just a little, and started to clear a few more bits away. Sometimes, she'd glance at the veil with worry and at the shapes moving on the other side, but wouldn't let Luke spend too much time working out what was going on.

The second guard, when he came through much later was…human? And-

Luke froze.

His breath hurt and he felt horribly aware of everything that was happening around him and yet unable to interact with it. His breath was loud (everyone could surely hear how he was almost gasping over and over again) and he forgot how to move or the rules or-

The slap came out of nowhere and was nothing like before. It was a sharp rap to remind him where he was. "Enough," The Togruta said to him sharply. "Help clean."

Luke nodded and aimed for the part of the table furthest away from the man, ducking his head down to collect the dishes even as he pushed outward with the force.

It was like the man in front of him wasn't there.

"You know who I am?" the…his…the guard asked.

Luke ducked his eyes down, suddenly realising he'd raised them to stare again. Not knowing how to respond (if it was…why…) his thoughts jumbled everywhere and then he nodded.

He glanced again at the metal arm. He knew that arm. Had spent so many lazy mornings after Mom had gone to work just curled up next to that arm as they played a holo game or having that arm swing him up and high as they play wrestled.

Then the guard took the helmet off.

Luke ducked down under the table to start picking up scraps because he-

This wasn't real. This couldn't be real.

His hands trembled as he picked up the food, trying not to burst into tears.

Why hadn't he come home?

Under the table, Luke glared at the booted legs, as if it would help any. Then pushed with the force, determined to get past whatever shields his father was putting up.

There was almost a knocking in his mind and something-

Cuffs? The word and image was being pushed against his mind over and over and it made his head pound. He retched as silently as he could from the force of it all, but…

Luke slowly rose, keeping all that he had gathered and peeked once more.

Now that the mask was off, the collar was more visible. Thicker and more technical than Luke's. But his father looked well-groomed and healthy, unlike the other slaves. And he was being fed food for the heads and the Queen. He was staring at nothing, shovelling a heaped spoonful into his mouth and-

On his wrists there were cuffs.

His father's blue eyes suddenly snapped to his. "Don't let them catch you doing that," he said. Then his eyes darted to Luke's jaw. "Again," he added, shaking his head.

"How long have you been here?"

The question slipped out and Luke nearly bit his tongue off as he asked.

"Six or seven months maybe," his father said, surprising Luke a little that he even answered. "You?"

"A week," Luke whispered. Then laughter drifted over and he looked around, a little surprised to realise he was alone. The Togruta must have gone out into the main room. "Should I go out there?"

"No."

Luke nodded and then looked down again. Then back again, just in case it was a mirage or a sign of Luke going mad.

"Have we met?"

 _You left me._

 _You didn't come home._

 _You should know who I am_

 _Why aren't you saving me?_

The noises beyond the veil got louder and Luke stared at it, suddenly feeling as if he had lost the purpose his feet were meant for and was floating or unable to control his movements and he was…

Luke opened his mouth. Then shook his head.

Xxx

Luke stared at the bath water the next morning.

His hair was dark still, thought it wouldn't last long. He thought maybe he was a bit older looking now and he was definitely a little bit taller. And the bruise on his face had swollen his jaw and cheek and splashed vivid purples and greens across his skin.

He wasn't sure that he recognised himself.

"Get moving," the female snapped.

After the bath, he tried to reach out for Leia as he waited for some others to take their turns. She reached back, but was too far away for anything other than the sensation of closeness and comfort. For a moment, he pretended he was at home, whenever Mom had made it that month, and they were curled together as she tried to sing him bedtime songs because Leia was under the impression that no-one could so that as well as she could.

As he did errands, he realised that he was being woken at strange times. The cellar kept everything dark and murky and cold, so maybe he hadn't realised that they took slaves out at different times. Within days, his sleep pattern was a mess and he would lay awake for hours, trying to work it all out in his head.

On the third day, he relented.

When he reached out for Vader, the man responded instantly and the apartment as it usually was appeared, except it looked odd somehow. Like it could collapse away any minute.

"You are reckless and stubborn," Vader snapped at him, voice laced with fury.

"Why don't you know who I am?" Luke yelled back.

"I, am not Anakin Skywalker," Vader snarled. "I am not that weak, pathetic-"

Luke tried to push him away, but he was so scared of being alone that it barely did anything. Instead, he backed up against the wall and slid down, hiding his face in his knees.

"You need to leave him," Vader said after a moment. "And the others. Leave. Before they work out who you are."

"I don't care-"

"You can remove the collar," Vader snapped. "The second they realise who you are, they will bind you as they have him. Leave. Now."

Leave?

"I'm not you," Luke muttered.

The light faded from the apartment and they were back in its ruins. Vader stood, staring down at him and the air almost vibrated.

"This was stupid." Luke looked away and stared at the ragged curtains that flapped pathetically in the breeze.

"Why did you come here?" Vader asked, sounding like he hated the idea that Luke had even bothered.

"I wanted my…" Luke trailed off and hugged his knees tighter. "I don't know what to do," he whispered. Then, looking up as his eyes burned with tears, he stared at the mask. "What will he do if I tell him?"

Vader remained still. "I'd kill them all for daring to touch you."

Luke blinked, not sure what to do with that information. "And him?"

Vader snorted. "It is perhaps one of the only things we would agree upon," he said, his voice almost…softer.

Luke chewed at the inside of his mouth. "What if…what if I let you?"

"I will not risk your mind." Vader turned from him. "You will run and you will find a way to come back one day."

"You want to," Luke whispered. "You want to kill them all. I can feel it."

Vader turned. And for a second, Luke could almost see what Vader could do, had done. The bodies and screams and the power of it all-

"I am not entirely sure you would survive it-"

"I did before-"

"You have no concept of the rage I feel," Vader roared suddenly. "How much it takes to keep you here and from it. My son has been made a slave, my freeborn child, my only living child. Beaten and starved and worked and kept next to the foulest creatures to walk the earth and I cannot do anything." The walls started to shake and then-

Fire.

Luke looked around, not sure what was happening, only that there were screams and it was so hot it would burn and destroy everything.

For a second he saw-

Mom. Heavily pregnant, more than she'd ever been with Leia. And she was shaking her head and crying as a dark figure paced before her.

He pulled himself out of it and lay panting at the dark, cold wall. Alone.


	5. Chapter 5

There were days when Anakin wondered how the Zygerrain empire ever got anything done.

Other than the fact they used slaves.

He wasn't entirely sure whether this was a new tact of the Queen's or whether she was just losing interest in him but being made to stand next to her throne as she watched what could only be described as something akin to live sex shows occurred was not the highlight of his life.

On the third night of it, she asked him if he enjoyed it. He said no.

On the fourth night of it, she asked what he did enjoy.

It took him a moment. For a second, he could see his wife, taking his hand and leading him towards her bed and he'd been…nervous. Determined and eager but so, so nervous because he wasn't sure and she looked so beautiful and was so gentle as she took his face in her hands and kissed him.

The memory of it made him want to cry.

In the end, he simply shook his head. What was happening in front of him was so far removed from what he had experienced, the only thing that he had experienced. The last time he had made love to his wife she'd been carrying their daughter and he'd been so careful and she'd laughed at him and playfully bit his lip until he laughed too and then, afterwards, he'd stroked her stomach and her hair-

"Go eat and then go," she snapped, sounding annoyed.

He didn't double check. Instead he strode towards the veil and entered the almost separate room, one of two where she demoted her less favourites for the evening.

Removing the helmet, he sat and started digging in. Without the worry that he would have to return, he slowed down a little and tried, for a second to pretend he was somewhere else.

The side room were always quiet by this point. There were two young females in the room, both dressed in a way that indicated they would be serving the Queen soon. Uncomfortable with what he was allowing to happen, Anakin settled into a seat. The cushioned chairs were usually questionable, but they were blessedly comfortable and Anakin sat back into them, trying not to sigh in relief after being stood straight for most of the day. And the food was good, of course it was and part of him hated that he enjoyed the flavour and spice of it.

The cuffs caught in the light and he paused, staring down at them. They were better than the ones before. The idiots had thinned the cuffs to make them look sleek and smooth and to make it impossible for Anakin to get into the circuitry without it being obvious but, with such fine thin work, he could pretty much trace the device and the circuits through the metal.

As he swallowed he caught the collar a little. His finger traced the edge of it and briefly touched the links that kept the collar around his throat and then the receiver for the signal to give a shock. If he'd figured out how to jam it then he would bet that Ahsoka was there. But without the cuffs or Ahsoka or a getaway ship all he'd do would take a few of the slavers with him.

It was tempting enough some days, he thought as he watched the female across from him. The young slave stepped in and close to the veil. She peered through at the shadows, green eyes wide with fear.

"Try to keep to the shadows," he advised quietly. "Fill up the wine so that they don't look around for you."

She glanced over at him. In another life, he'd be making a joke with her and encouraging her to leave while he took care of the scum in the next room. And maybe he'd leave with the Jedi, convinced that he'd saved her, even though she would probably just be passed to the next slaver group or the next army that rolled through and took advantage of those who were weaker.

He said nothing as she stepped beyond the veil. The other went without emotion. He imagined that she'd given up years ago.

Completely alone now, he bit into the spiced ribs, slightly surprised that some had still been left. The wine he didn't touch, the Jedi training to ingrained in him to reach for it. Padme had teased him about it once or twice and then promptly stopped when he teased her about the time she had a few too many herself. He'd had Correlian champagne once as a Padawan and Obi-Wan had made comments about his behaviour on it for years.

But sometimes Padme would have a glass in the evening and, when they kissed, he'd get a brief taste of the rich plums and spices that she tended to prefer.

If it tasted anything like what Padme had drunk he'd probably drink himself stupid. The sheer longing that he felt for her was indescribable. He wanted her. Selfishly, he even wanted her to be with him right now. She'd know what to do, she'd be clever and she'd hold him and tell him if he was righto keep resisting the Queen and-

He felt the boy enter. Not with the force but just through his senses. Shaking himself, and surprised by the welling emotion and tears he could feel battling through, he glanced down and tried to steel himself. He swiped at his face to rid the evidence and then looked up.

There was a yellow smear on his jaw that let Anakin know it might be the boy from a few weeks ago who hadn't stopped staring. The swelling from that first time seemed to have gone down, but the posture of the boy indicated that he'd been taught the lesson in other ways.

Anakin pulled the meat from the bone and tried to ignore him as he struggled to get his emotions under control and hide the fear that was building. He ate quietly, pushing the memories of his wife away, almost unable to cope with the thought of her playing around in his mind.

By the time he felt in control again, the room was much tidier. The child worked quickly, gathering pots and the debris from the Zygerrians who had eaten earlier. He kept his head down and didn't acknowledge Anakin at all.

"Don't," Anakin said softly when the boy reached for a bowl. "I'll finish it."

He knew what they did to slaves who ate what they weren't meant to. But sometimes, if you filled the vegetables with water and towelled them off, so they were plain and chopped them up, the slaves could get away with it. After all, no-one seemed fully sure of what went into the scraps they got.

The boy didn't say anything, just darted his hand back lightning quick and turned his attention elsewhere.

Anakin started to fill the bowl with water and watched as the spice and extra bits floated to the top. The boy didn't even glance, instead keeping his back to Anakin.

Perhaps he could give it to one of the girls if and when they came back. He glanced at the boy and then away.

Not his problem.

Except…

The boy's hair was lighter at the roots. Much lighter. Unnaturally lighter. Knowing the Zyggerians as he did, Anakin imagined they'd shave the boy's head soon. Still, it was curious. Not many children dyed their hair.

He glanced back at the veil. The noises there indicated that it was far enough along that no-one would be coming in and no-one would be listening.

"Who were you hiding from?"

The boy's movements paused.

Then he shrugged.

And still didn't turn around, busying himself at the edge of the room where there was barely anything to do there. In fact, Anakin would bet that the boy would have left had he been able to leave the room before his task was done.

Something…something pushed at him and it was like the force yet not. A tingling suspicion that he guessed Padme probably felt at times because there was something not right about this, though he lacked the connection to the force to tell what.

"Turn around."

He could almost hear the battle in the boy's head. Then the shoulders hunched and the boy turned, his head down and hair almost long enough that it hid his forehead.

The boy hadn't stopped staring the first time. He'd been bruised and-

Anakin stood and edged closer. The boy's head turned to look at the door and in that split-second Anakin finally caught a glimpse of his face with just the faintest smear of yellowing bruises.

He moved quicker then he thought possible without the force and was knelt in front of the boy, looking up and cupping the boy's face.

Luke's face.

Thought rushed from him. His curiosity and fear and hate and self-pity faded to be left with simple horror.

His son was in the palace.

As a slave.

"No," he whispered and swept up, gathering the boy to his chest. "No, no, no," he whispered, pressing his lips to the boy's hair and trying to…he didn't know. Absorb him in some way to keep him from this brutal world and-

How the force was the boy here?

But it was Luke. He knew his child.

But he hadn't. He hadn't known it was Luke two weeks ago. And what had happened to his son since then? Was he-

"Are you all right?" he asked, stepping back and cupping Luke's face again then winced at the sight of the bruise and the memory of what it had looked like.

Luke stared up at him, eyes wide. His mouth opened, then closed and then he pressed his lips together and he could feel the boy start to shake, his lips trembling even as he tried to look away, eyes turning glassy with tears as he tried desperately to contain it.

Luke…

"Shush," he soothed, pulling his son close and stroking a hand through his hair as the fear and sorrow almost shattered through his son into almost silent heaving sobs which was its own agony because when had Luke learned to keep himself so quiet when he was so upset? He glanced at the veil again and-

He looked around the room, almost desperate for some more protection for them. Then he lifted Luke up, cradling him close and stepped towards the shadowed corner of the room.

Luke just sobbed against his neck in almost silent cries.

"It's okay," he tried to soothe. "Shush."

"I didn't…I don't," Luke sounded as if he were almost at the stage of hyperventilating.

"Shush," he whispered, looking at the veil again and breathing in the smell of his child. Force, his son. He hadn't dared think about him for too long, terrified of the agony it created. His son curled his hands into the thin shirt that Anakin wore and he shook his head, eyes filling with tears.

He couldn't protect him.

The terror was like ice. If they knew, if the Queen found out…

Sweet force, he'd never leave if she held Luke's life or health over his head. And his son would be here-

He let Luke down and cupped his face again, trying to brush away the steady flow of tears. Then he looked down at the collar around-

There was a collar around his son's neck.

He had to pull his hands away for a second, scared that he'd just try and rip it apart and hurt the boy.

Luke just leaned into him, apparently exhausted. Of course he would be. The boy had spent the past few weeks knowing that his father as suddenly alive and back and was being worked-

Anakin frowned and started to inspect the boy. He was thin and tired and there were burns on his hands that must be from carrying hot plates. Careless bruises littered his thin body and his feet were bare and too vulnerable for Anakin's tastes.

He'd kill them. The certainty whipped through him and he glanced at the veil and the shadowed figured beyond. He cupped Luke's head as he narrowed his eyes.

Someway, he'd do it. But Luke needed to be safe first because if they laid one more finger on his son-

"Look at me," Anakin whispered, stroking Luke's cheek as he looked back down. Obedient and still silent, Luke looked up. "How much choice to you have about which side you serve when these nights happen?"

Luke stared at him as if he were mad, then shook his head.

That complicated it a little.

"Who do you serve when she doesn't do these things?"

Luke looked around and for a moment, Anakin was worried he would collapse and pass out. "The kitchen masters," he whispered. "Or her heads when they aren't-"

"Okay," Anakin whispered. "I'll find you. I promise."

"You left," Luke whispered back, the words bubbling out of him. Anakin winced and pressed his forehead to Luke's, burning tears welling up and threatening to spill over.

Luke had just started to trust that they'd return. How long had his son waited and wondered? How long before that waiting had started to flay his trust and make him withdraw again? The image of his son, smaller and alone staring up at the stars made the tears flow over and he could feel them wetting his cheeks.

"Not by choice," Anakin swore. "I swear to you. Never by choice. And we are going home. To your Mom and sister-"

Luke blinked at him. "Leia."

Leia?

She had a name. Of course she had a name but still… He nodded, unable to process it. "They're safe?" He asked, pulling back to look at his son's face.

Luke nodded fiercely. "She's safe," he said with such certainty that Anakin nearly smiled.

Then Luke's eyes widened. "I need to-" He turned back to the table.

"Come on," Anakin said, stepping forward and gathering up what he could. He handed it to Luke who sorted it using force knew what method and loaded up a table. They'd barely finished when two male slaves came in and blinked at him in confusion.

He had to leave.

He couldn't even say goodbye to his son. He just had to…to walk away.

It was one of the hardest things he had ever done.

Xxx

The second he entered his chamber he almost put his hand through the wall.

The rage he felt almost surprised him. Apparently, it had been automatic to keep his temper hidden from Luke, but he could have choked every guard in the building had he had access to the force.

They'd hit his son.

Beaten him. Were starving him. Burning him with hot plates. His child had been exhausted, silent. Cowed.

The only thing that kept him from hitting the wall repeatedly was the knowledge that he would need his hands when he wrapped them around that bitch's throat.

Leia.

The thought of the name soothed him, just a little. He had a daughter called Leia and she was safe. Luke had been adamant about that and… and of course he was. He didn't know why it hadn't really occurred to him that Luke would be a big brother and look after her, but of course he would.

Luke and Leia.

The rage didn't fade exactly but it dimmed. Like a sandstorm that was on its way but waiting to hit. Longing filled him; he wanted to see his children together, wanted to see Luke's face with a smile and looking healthy again so he could properly see how his son looked now.

How long had it been? His son looked older because his face had been gaunt but he was only a little taller and it was hard to get a read on it all. He needed to ask. Needed to know what was happening with the republic and the Jedi and would someone come looking for Luke.

Padme would.

He knew that with certainty, but he didn't want her to see this. He needed to get Luke out as quickly as possible because, as much as he wanted his wife, he felt the gnawing burn of humiliation because of what he was letting happen and he didn't want her to see that. Bad enough that Luke had seen it.

He needed to get a message to Ahsoka. Needed to get Luke alone to instruct him on how to use the force to get the cuffs and collar off of him. Needed to have an idea of where and how to steal a ship.

He was doing it. Had to. Because even one more day of Luke in this hell hole alone was one day too many.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

AN: Thank you so much for the reviews :)

* * *

Luke was almost sure that he'd dreamt it.

Life in the kitchens was a hazy surreal dream in a way. Too baffling and foreign to take in fully and he couldn't quite reconcile everything in his mind.

He wanted his Dad.

Being held and hugged and gentle touches… All he wanted was to run upstairs to Dad and hide in him and let his Dad deal with everything. And now he didn't have to lay awake at night worrying about how to protect Dad and whether he should tell him and-

He was so tired.

It was cold in the cellars where they slept. He curled up tightly, shivering as he struggled with the urge to run upstairs. He'd held it together for what felt like forever but was just a day and Dad had said that he'd come and find Luke. And he hadn't and it was the second night of sleeping on the floor since he'd seen him and-

He ducked his arm over his face to hide the sights of where he was and tried to conjure up a picture in his head. A dream of being back on Jedha while Gregar cooked bread and showed him how to kneed while Mom brushed Leia's hair on the floor by the fire and his sister projected a grumpy sulk at him because of it.

Stars, he missed her so much.

A rough hand grabbed his upper arm and yanked Luke up, startling him as it came from no-where. Luke skidded against the floor and blinked up in sleepy, exhausted confusion.

"Out," the Zyggerian snapped at him. "You're to clean the upper rooms as you should have earlier."

Luke gaped and then hissed when he was half dragged out of the cellar and tossed towards the stairs. Eager to avoid more blows or harsh words, he scampered up the stairs and passed the guards that didn't seem at all interested in his comings and goings.

Baffled, he headed for the winding stairs that held flickering shadows against the lit torches that were scattered along the staircase. He had cleaned that room, he had! Maybe not perfectly, but the Zygerrians didn't exactly have Mom's standards.

He broke off the stair case and scampered down the hallway, heading for the next lot of servants' staircases. He barely had a foot on the staircase before he hesitated.

He had cleaned it.

His heart pounded in terror as he stared up the darkened passage. What if…what if it was just a way to get him back upstairs? They pulled some of the older slaves out of the sleeping area sometimes and when they returned they were limping and dead eyed and he wasn't always sure what was going on, but he didn't want it to happen to him.

But he couldn't go back down and he wasn't convinced that a guard spotting him out of bounds and without a task wouldn't punish him anyway.

Nervous, he started to creep up the next lot of stairs. He tried to keep his breathing quiet as he went, almost holding it to ensure that he didn't make a noise in case there was something or someone waiting for him at the top.

There was nothing at the top.

Relieved, he started down the passage way again. He had to be halfway up the building now and close to where the Queen entertained. He watched the lit door with wariness as he crept by and-

He nearly screamed when a shadowed figure gripped him suddenly and hauled him into the air, a hand going around his mouth to muffle any noise. The he was against someone's chest, an arm around his chest, keeping his arms pinned to the sides.

"Shush," his father's voice breathed in his ear. "I've got you."

Relief sagged through him and Luke slumped back. Dad wrapped his arms around Luke tightly for a moment and pressed a rough kiss to his hair before letting him slide down.

No.

Luke turned the second he was on his feet and pushed his head into Dad's chest, trying to wrap his hands in the man's clothes but unable to do so. When he pulled back, Dad was wearing the armour of the guards and his face was mostly hidden by the helmet.

Dad gripped his shoulder and turned Luke around, then started to stride down the hallway, keeping Luke in front of him.

"I have to-"

"Shush," Dad whispered. "I lied."

Huh? Luke was too tired to argue or question it. He let Dad steer him along the hall and then up some stairs he'd never been near and down another unknown hall. Then he was stopped.

"I'm going to walk towards a door," Dad whispered to him, bending down so that he was in front of Luke. "There are guards on the door. I'm going to…I'll be speaking to them. I'll keep their attention on me and you need to sneak in through the door. Then wait behind it. Understand?"

Luke stared at him.

"Luke," Dad snapped, cupping his face. "Just sneak into the room. No matter what happens. You need to sneak into the room and be there when they shut the door behind me."

Then he pulled away and Luke stood, alone as he watched his father stride down the hallway, the cape of the guards' uniform flapping behind him. For a brief second, the cape was dark and the stride was wider and Luke slumped against the wall.

 _Move._

He was too tired to do anything but obey. Luke crept quietly down the hall, keeping to the walls and shadows as he stared at the guard that seemed to be sneering something at his Dad. The words were simply a drone and Luke hesitated, knowing he wasn't really judging what was happening properly.

Dad reached for the door and opened it and then hesitated and turned back to the guard and said something.

Electricity cackled and Luke froze as he Dad's legs buckled so that he was kneeling on the floor, hands on the stones and gasping in pain.

 _Move._

It was like being pulled or pushed by the force. Luke darted forward as the guard stepped forward to whisper something in Dad's ear and Luke saw no more as he got into the room and then peeled himself against the wall so that he was hidden by the door, even if that guard did look in.

He slid down, trying to make himself as small as possible and not hear what was happening and there was an odd feeling of hesitation and frustration and Luke didn't even have the energy to slam the door in his mind shut properly.

The door clanged shut.

He could hear things being dropped to the floor and then Luke was being picked up and cradled close and carried. Warm blankets were wrapped around him and his head was on a pillow and his Dad was behind him, stroking his hair and keeping him safe.

"Go to sleep, Luke," Dad said gently. "You're…" he trailed off. "Don't worry. I've got it. I promise. You don't have to worry."

Luke was asleep before his father finished talking.

Xxxx

When he woke up, there was light in the room and he was warm.

The room he was in was plain and bare, but there was a tiny window above that let in a shaft of light that crossed the door in a solid rectangle. Disliking the sight, he turned around and snuggled in as close as he could to his father.

"I know," Dad soothed, stroking a hand through his hair as he sighed. "But you need to wake up properly."

Luke shook his head and tried to burrow into his father's chest. But Dad sighed and shifted so that their faces were level.

"Hi," Dad whispered.

Luke stared at him and then reached out, tracing the slight beard that was growing along Dad's jawline. Dad smiled a little and stroked his metal hand through Luke's hair again. "Feel better?"

Yes. He nodded. But Dad frowned a little and drew Luke close once more, almost as if the past few years hadn't happened and they were gonna have a lazy day and then pretend to Mom that they'd done loads.

Then Dad sat them up, lifting Luke easily and making it so that they were sat opposite each other. Dad threw a glance at the door and then looked back down at Luke. "This is not how I wanted to do this," he muttered. "I…you need to reach out with the force."

Luke stared.

"Luke," Dad sighed. "I…can you talk to me?"

Oh. "Yeah," Luke whispered and his voice was a little croaky. "What do you need me to do?"

"I…" Dad let out a long breath. "I need you to be able to hide here. I'll sneak you food, but I need you safe. Here. So…" Dad trailed off and seemed to be thinking.

"I can sneak back up," Luke promised. "I'll remember the way. The guard won't be up here when you aren't."

Dad's jaw tightened a little. "They'll lock the door."

"I can open it," Luke said quickly. "I know how to now."

Dad frowned at that. "How…" he changed his tone from the demanding one it had been. "How long has it been?" he asked gentler. "How old are you now?"

"Eleven," Luke said. "I…two and a half years." And then he was gathered back into Dad's arms and rocked gently and he could feel Dad shaking and he wasn't sure if it was because Dad was upset or angry.

"I…Mom…" Luke wriggled wanting to see Dad's face. "She took us away. To Jedha. There were monks there and they taught me."

Dad froze and pulled back. He held Luke at arms' length and stared at him in disbelief. His gaze flickered down to the collar at Luke's throat. "Taught?" he demanded. "Can you take that off?"

Luke nodded.

Dad stared. For ten long seconds and then let out a long explosive breath. "What are you doing here then?" he hissed sounding furious.

"My friend," Luke said. "He's here and-"

Dad actually stood up and walked away from him. Terrified, Luke reached out and Dad didn't push him away but held himself rigid all the same as if he might just break in two from whatever emotion he was feeling.

"Your friend?" he asked, sounding incredibly annoyed. "What friend?"

"Kanan."

"Who?"

"He…we got captured together. He used to be a Padawan and-"

Dad pinched the bridge of his nose and held up a hand and the motion was so like Vader that Luke almost tripped over his words. He stared at the raised hand warily before switching his gaze back to Dad.

"Where is your friend?"

"He got taken to the warriors-"

Dad narrowed his gaze and then seemed to suddenly think of something. "Can you... is he bound with these?" he asked, letting the light catch the cuffs at his wrists. "Can you feel your friend?"

"I…I've only ever felt Leia," Luke said not sure what his father meant.

"Okay," Dad said, crouching down and taking Luke's hands. "I need you to close your eyes."

Obediently, Luke did as he was asked.

"Now imagine opening up-"

There was a vicious noise in Luke's head and everything slammed shut. A flicker of an image of an old man with scars and a robe and the rotting feeling of decay threatened before the walls went up.

Luke opened his eyes and shook his head. "I can't," he whispered. "I…it…he…he won't let me put my walls down."

Dad tilted his head. "Me?" he asked after a moment.

Luke nodded. "He…the Emperor. He doesn't want him to sense me."

Dad scanned his face and then looked away. And then nodded. "I can get a message to her another way," he decided. Then he drew in a long breath. "I'm not sure I can risk you sneaking in here every night."

Slumping his shoulders, Luke stared down at the floor.

"Luke," Dad whispered and wrapped his arms around him. "I'm sorry," he said, pulling Luke in tight and it was a feeling that he didn't want to let go of, that he wanted to have with him all the time and there was nowhere safer than in his Dad's arms. "Two days," Dad promised. "Two more days, Luke. I just need to get a message to Ahsoka. I need her to find a way for us to get away. And she's with the warriors so she must know your friend."

Luke nodded, miserable.

"But you listen to me," Dad said firmly. "If they hurt you, you run. Leave. Find your Mom and tell her and let someone else come back for us. If they cause you any pain-"

What?

"I'm not leaving you."

Dad's mouth opened and closed a few times. He even raised his finger and then dropped it again. "Luke," he said finally, sounding like he was in some kind of turmoil. "Of all the things to pick," he muttered to himself and then stared long and hard, his eyes that calm and steady blue but still looking quietly annoyed.

Then he tilted his head.

"If I'm in there," he said, tapping Luke's head gently. "Then I'm already telling you to run."

Yeah. Luke looked away stubbornly and refused to look back when there was a brief weak chuckle. Then Dad wrapped him in his arms again and let out a long breath onto Luke's hair. "You are far too much like your mother," Dad decided. "Come up here then. If something happens, come up here. Otherwise…the less we risk you catching their attention, the better."

He could do this. Luke nodded and pulled back and then found himself clutching at his Dad's clothes anyway. "I…it feels like a dream," he whispered. "When I'm down there. It…none of this feels real when I'm back there."

"I know," Dad said and his voice made Luke blink and look at his father properly. At how tight he seemed as if he was a rocket launcher about to go off or like cables pulled as tight as they would go before they recoiled. And under it, Dad was…

He was scared, Luke realised suddenly.

It was like when he'd realised how terrified Mom was the night that Leia had caught some Aldaraanian flu virus and she'd been up for three days straight and had sat in the corner with the baby. Mom had shook like she was about to be pulled apart and Luke had just crept over to her and sat there waiting for her to go to sleep so he could take the baby (And Leia had always cried when she was really small, ask anyone!)

"We'll get out," Luke said after a moment, hands still clenched in Dad's shirt. "Mom will kill me if we don't."

Dad blinked at him and then let out a surprised bark of a laugh before pulling him close one last time. "Yeah," he whispered into Luke's shoulder. "But I think it's me she'd kill."

Xxx

Luke managed to sneak back down to the kitchens, surprised by how quiet it was at the early hours of the morning. In less than an hour, they'd all be up and at full productivity, but the palace ran at the Queen's time and rumour had it that she hadn't really seen the morning in years.

He didn't really know what it was, but returning to the kitchens this time made it all seem so…strange. The slavers and the kitchen slaves seemed like puppets caught in a play and Luke wasn't really sure why they kept on performing. There were more slaves than there were slavers and even if the slavers had the weapons, they'd stull surely win.

 _But some would die_ , a voice whispered to him softly. _No-one wants to risk being the sacrifice._

 _Would you?_ He asked.

There was a flicker of bitter amusement. _For the right price_.

Luke hummed at that as he scrubbed the pans that were placed before him. The Zygerrian's lack of interest in the slaves was suddenly freeing he realised, as long as he looked like he was busy, few would question what his true role was. It was like the senate; as long as you looked like you had a purpose being there, no-one seemed bothered.

Vader, it appeared was in a better mood because he snorted at that thought.

 _How will he make contact with Ahsoka?_ Luke asked.

He could imagine Vader's head tilting. _That is who you wanted to reach?_

 _Kanan. But so he could talk to her._

He could almost feel the way that Vader debated that idea before dismissing it. _I'm sure he will manage. It is not your concern, young one._

He wasn't entirely convinced about that. _You seem…_ Luke wasn't entirely sure how to phrase it.

 _You have your plans,_ Vader replied. _I have mine._

Luke froze. Then, warily started to shut the door in his mind.

It was hard to decide if he felt relief or terror that Vader didn't fight it.


	7. Chapter 7

The Queen's chambers were still being tidied. Anakin stood by the door in guard position, sweeping his eyes across the debris of wine bottles and silken hangings that had been tugged loose at some point. A young Zygerrian male had been leaving as he'd arrived and taken over the duty.

Except he had to do his duty on the inside of the door rather than the outside.

The Queen was at the mirror, being dressed and made up for the day, her eyes occasionally flickering over to watch his reactions. Today was green silks all edged with gold and it brought out the russet colours of her fur.

The idea of what he was about to say made him want to… he didn't know. Not do it seemed the simplist way to describe it. Hide from it, but there was Luke-

Luke.

His brave, stupid, wonderful eleven-year-old son.

Eleven.

An eleven-year-old who was willingly staying as a slave because he wanted to find his friend and save his father and who wouldn't leave. The boy had more than enough experience of hiding on ships and stowing away, more than Anakin ever liked to remember. His son could leave.

There were times he remembered Obi-Wan giving him the strangest look in the middle of lectures. Disbelief and frustration when Anakin did something stupid to save someone but there had always been something else that he couldn't quite figure out.

He thought he might know it now. Stars, how could you tell a child that their foolhardy actions to save someone made you so fiercely proud when at the same time you wanted to wring their neck for putting themselves in danger.

If his child could find the courage to stay where he was to try and help his friend, then Anakin could do this.

"What would I have to do in order to see Ahsoka properly?"

In the mirror, the Queen's gaze snapped to his. They stared at each other for long moments as Anakin tried to keep his breathing under control.

The Queen made a gesture and the females attending her dipped their heads and all filed out, leaving him dangerously alone with the Queen.

He didn't move as she stood, but did avert his eyes a little because she wasn't fully dressed and he didn't really know what to do with that. And then she was in his space and it was hard not to react. Harder still when she reached out to touch his jaw in a proprietary, considering manner.

Then a smile crossed her face. "A private audience with your former Padawan?" she asked. "That's a rather large risk for me."

"Hardly," he muttered. "The cuffs still hold, you have the shock collars. What could we possibly do?"

"I've heard stories." She circled him and he hated that he had to let her. Hated it more when her fingers grazed his back as she moved, like she was deciding what he could be good for.

"What do you think I will ask for?"

He wanted to snap at her to just get it done with. "Either to kill someone or…" he hesitated, not really sure how to phrase it.

"Or?"

He glanced at the bed and then straight ahead, a sinking feeling building in his chest.

The chuckle that came from her almost made him blink in surprise. "The male of the species needs to be more willing than you are currently," she said, coming around to face him again. "The Jedi really do teach you nothing about such matters?"

It was on the tip of his tongue to point out the way around such…issues, but he swallowed it back, annoyed at himself for almost helping her in this.

"We have time," she decided. "A kiss. That is what I want in exchange."

A kiss.

Unbidden, the image of his first kiss…the lake retreat, Padme in the dress that he was still mostly sure she might worn in an unconscious attempt to encourage to him…the cool breeze, both of them unsure and the moment of finally and rightness and it had been wonderfully…sweet. Like freedom and hope.

The Queen stared at him, waiting and he frowned, unsure why she wasn't moving.

Oh. She wanted him to…

For Luke.

To see Padme. To meet Leia and finally be able to picture her, to know her face and what she liked and if she took after Padme or him or... Stars, the moment he started to think about it his mind went into lightspeed thinking about all that he didn't yet know.

He needed to know. She was his daughter. His. And there were others that knew more about his daughter than he did.

Concentrate.

What needed to be done?

Free Ahsoka and find this friend of Luke's that had better be his best friend that he'd known for years.

And to do that?

He reached out a hand, the light catching on the cuffs and he ignored it, cupping her cheek. There was a triumphant smile on her face as he drew their faces together and then pressed his lips to hers.

There was a shock when she didn't respond the way Padme did. Of course she wouldn't, but he was so used to kisses being a certain way, or getting a certain response that it confused him for a moment. She made him do the work, coaxing at her as if she were the hesitant, unwilling one.

When he pulled away, she was watching him.

"Again," she decided. "Stroke my ears this time."

It took everything he had to keep the annoyance of his face. This time she guided his hands and let out a moan into his mouth as he stroked which made him want to pull away as fast as he could. She responded more this time, nipping at him occasionally.

She made him to do it a third time, this time without guidance.

"You are easy to train," she decided as she pulled away. "You may see your Padawan. And you will be here every evening."

That surprised him. He didn't quite manage to keep his startled look to himself and she smiled.

Xxx

Within an hour he was being escorted to the pits where the warriors entertained the Zygerrians by trying to kill each other and survive. It wasn't too often that he visited the pits, the Queen had other entertainments that she preferred, but he knew that it still went on regardless.

The sand within was being hosed down, the blood diluted to turn it into more of a rusty gold colour. Some slaves were scrubbing the walls and there were slavers making deals on the seated areas while enjoying some cool refreshments.

One day…

The escorts led him down underneath the pit and into the expanse of cells that they had for the warriors. Suspicious eyes watched as he was led down the path and towards a cell at the end.

Ahsoka.

She was already standing, gaze defiant and then surprised at the sight of him. He winked at her and she stepped back, shoulders relaxing a little but her gaze still watchful and wary.

They opened cell door and he stepped in easily. Then there was a murderous, suspicious glare from his escort before the male walked away, stomping like a sulking child.

He turned and grabbed at his Padawan, pulling her close and she responded instantly. Force knew what they looked like, clutching at each other as if they were both drowning.

"How you doin', Snips?"

He felt her nod and then pull back. "Are they listening?"

He shook his head. "But…I dunno. Some caution." He hesitated and then let out a breath. "I've bumped into a time traveller."

Ahsoka winced. "Is he all right?" she asked, not looking to surprised.

Anakin nodded. "I assume his friend told you."

"Kanan?" Ahsoka pulled a face. "They met a day before they were taken, I'm not sure they're-" she waved a hand. "That's not important," she muttered, almost to herself. "Can he…" she made a wavy gesture with her hand.

Like hell it wasn't important. "They've known each other for a day?" he snapped. "Force above," he snarled, and scrubbed a hand over his face. There was being brave and then there was just being a wilful minded idiot. "He…he could leave. That boy…"

Ahsoka didn't make any comment about that. "We have…the start of an idea. I wasn't sure how to get to you."

He looked around. Then made a hand movement with his hands, hiding it from view.

Ahsoka nodded, then made a gesture back.

Xxx

By the time he got to his room that night he was exhausted. And on edge.

And as much as he wanted to yell at Luke for sneaking in when he'd told the boy not to unless there was danger, he was relieved to have him there.

His son wasn't asleep. Instead, he sat behind the door, arms wrapped around his knees and watching him warily as if waiting to be told off. When Anakin stayed quiet, Luke crept forward to where Anakin sat on the bed and then stopped. He almost appeared to be thinking, bare toes flexing and then digging into the groves in the stone floor.

Sighing, Anakin reached down and then froze, hurt when Luke pulled back a little. "Are you okay?" he asked, scanning him for injuries.

Luke nodded sharply and then tucked his chin to his knees as he stared up. "There's…" Luke hummed a little. "There might be a problem."

Of course. "You need to be on the floor to tell me?"

Luke actually nodded then bit his lip. "It'll upset you," he murmured after a moment.

"I won't be angry with you," Anakin promised, feeling tired suddenly. "Just say it and get in and go to sleep."

"You…the…sometimes he's taken over my mind," Luke said, looking down at the floor. "I think he might be about to do it again. Well…" Luke huffed. "I can't figure it out," he admitted, turning those big eyes on Anakin.

There was a lot to decode there. "You mean…the future me?"

He watched as Luke bit his lip and looked unsure for a moment before the boy's shoulders slumped as if in defeat. "Vader."

Vader? He'd heard that word, he'd…

That first week that Luke had arrived. The nightmare that he'd had, where Padme had said it was as if their son was being choked and had screamed like he was dying. He could still see his son, tiny at seven, whispering the name with fear.

"Luke-"

"You turned," Luke said, still not looking at him. His words tumbling out in a muddle that was almost impossible to follow. "And…you didn't know who I was and you…he…sometimes when it's bad he takes over. Like when Mom was giving birth and… but…" Luke stared down at his knees now. "He doesn't like you. I don't understand… but…he has a plan and…all he cares about is me getting out."

Luke said the last like it was the worst thing he'd told Anakin and he stared down at his son, wondering exactly when his son would get it through his head that it was job to save Luke, not the other way around.

Then the rest filtered through.

He'd turned.

It didn't exactly surprise him. There'd been enough to make him wonder and the knowledge that Padme had died and the twins had probably been hidden would have meant that when he returned he'd have been half mad anyway. The death of his daughter as well…

But there was a burning humiliation there because his family knew it. Knew that he'd not managed to be the Jedi he'd wanted to be, that he'd failed.

Luke's back was curling over like a comma, as if he wanted to hide himself forever. And he needed to push it aside, all of his hurt and fear because his son was still looking worried and as if he had the world on his shoulders.

Anakin reached out to touch Luke's face with a gentle stoke, hoping to convey how calm he was as he sorted through Luke's earlier tirade again.

"What do you mean he takes you over?" he asked as Luke tilted and pressed into his hand a little.

"When Mom was giving birth, we were on Naboo during the invasion," Luke mumbled and Anakin had to strain to hear the words. "We were in an alleyway and the droids were everywhere and Mom was…" he looked up and pulled a face. "Dad, birth is gross," he said seriously.

Anakin bit back the snapped reply that he wouldn't know. And force alive, his wife had been in labour in the streets during a siege?

He stood, pacing and made a gesture for Luke to continue.

"It...I…there was a jedi with us. Eekar but he wasn't…they were everywhere." Luke almost sounded as if he were ashamed of what had happened. "But Vader…he took over and kept us safe."

"How?"

"I don't know," Luke whispered. "I don't remember it. A little…but…" he trailed off. "Mom says it's not good for me. It knocked me out and I didn't wake up again for ages."

Anakin paused at that. "How long is ages?"

"A week or two."

It had put Luke in a coma. And suddenly the worry became clear. "So…you're the only thing here that he cares about but… does he know what it does to you when he takes over?"

Luke nodded.

He knelt down by Luke and cupped his son's chin. "Can you speak to him?"

His son nodded and then winced. "He…he won't talk to you."

Of all the… "He does understand that we have the same priority?" Anakin snapped.

Apparently, his son relayed that because he winced not three seconds later.

"And?"

"He called you names," Luke said, sounding annoyed by it. "He doesn't like it that I call you Dad and like you better." Luke said it like he was winning an argument and Anakin wasn't entirely sure that the comment wasn't meant for both of them. Luke scowled suddenly and closed his eyes, apparently continuing the argument.

"There's a plan. The early hours of tomorrow," Anakin said firmly. "Will he interfere or can he help?"

Luke's blue eyes opened. "I locked him away," he said sounding tired. "He's…it makes everything confusing."

"Luke-"

"He won't answer," Luke huffed. "It makes my head hurt," he muttered.

It made his… Anakin resisted the urge to snarl and snap. It seemed like an endless parade of moments when he had to show restraint, had to be cautious and, for a dangerous second, he just wanted to scream and hit and do what he wanted rather than thinking of the consequences and waiting for the right moment.

It both helped and made it worse that Luke was watching and Anakin had no idea how to cope with that. He stared down at his child for a few seconds and then stood, walking away to…to no-where because he couldn't just leave.

He despised feeling so completely powerless.

"Go to bed," he said to the wall, not really recognising his own voice. Then, for a moment, there was no noise. Then an inhale as if Luke would speak and then the surprising sound of his son actually doing as he'd been told.

It was enough to make him turn around and look over curiously.

Luke was curling up under the sheets and was staring ahead, eyes a little distant. For a moment, Anakin couldn't quite distinguish it from the disassociated look that some slaves seemed to always wear but there were flickers of emotion on Luke's face as if registering a distant signal.

Luke was talking to the future version of him.

An odd jealousy bloomed over Anakin. Vicious and almost desperate. Luke was his son and yet a rearing terror whispered that it wasn't the case, that Luke was…he was Vader's. That they had a connection; force sakes, Vader was in Luke's head and knew what the boy was thinking and feeling and was whispering to him right now-

"Luke," Anakin whispered, kneeling by the edge of the bed.

His son blinked and fixed his gaze on Anakin.

It was hard to know what to say. He stroked the boy's hair and thought about the little boy that had turned up four years ago and turned his entire world inside out. It was as if Anakin recalled a different person, the man he had been who had stared at Luke as he would a stranger, who had been frustrated at the idea that he would have to care for this child who had wrecked all of his hopes.

Yet this was now the child he was kill for. Would die for. Would fall for and probably commit any manner of crime to ensure that Luke was safe.

Did his future-self feel like that? Had he done that?

"I love you," he whispered to his son. "You do know that, don't you?"

Luke nodded. But Anakin could feel his watchful gaze and knew that the boy was waiting for something else.

"Does he?" Force knew what made him ask.

Luke's eyes went a little distant and then he flinched. "He's angry now," Luke muttered. He drew in a long breath. "Virez said that the more I talk to him then the more power I give him." He stared up at Anakin as if waiting for confirmation or denial.

He had no idea, this was beyond what the Jedi had ever taught him about mental connections and the use of the force. "Are you afraid of him?"

His son was far too clever not to see how scared Anakin was of that answer. For a moment, Luke chewed on his lip and then sighed. "Sometimes," he admitted. Then he shifted his head against the pillow and seemed to think about it hard. "Sometimes it's like talking to you and he's…Mom says it's a dry wit. A bit…colder but fond and it's nice. Even when I'm alone, I'm not." Luke glanced up. "And then something happens and it's like a sand-storm battering in my head and I have to concentrate to make it fade to nothing." Luke curled his knees up just a little and Anakin smoothed his hair back. "But Virez…he told me not to go to him. Like…in my mind. And I am. I have. But I didn't…" Luke's eyes were suddenly bright, "Dad, I didn't know what to do and-"

"Shush," Anakin soothed, ducking his head down close to Luke's face. "Do you think he'll protect you?"

Luke nodded before Anakin had even finished speaking.

Could he do this? Trust that Luke would be kept safe by another version of himself that appeared crueller and colder than he was? A sith version of himself?

If he was honest, he wasn't sure that there was much choice.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

When Anakin awoke, it was with the sudden jolt start that he had once associated with missions or with Watto throwing something when he was annoyed. The tingling that warned him that something was coming and he needed to be up and ready.

A split second later, he swept his hand out and sat up, panicked.

Luke wasn't with him.

Instead, the boy was stood opposite the door, his face away from Anakin and impossible to see.

"Luke?" Anakin asked quietly, standing from the bed. "What is it?"

Luke continued to breathe, still staring at the door as Anakin took a step closer, mind racing and then skittering back at the conclusion that he came to. He paused, unsure and raised his gaze instead to the closed door.

Force, he didn't want this.

He couldn't bring himself to ask, half convinced himself that he was wrong as he softly moved forward again, this time moving to step around Luke so that he could place himself between the boy and the door.

Luke's eyes were closed and Anakin felt his breathing ease a little. His son had never sleep walked before, but maybe, just maybe this was something that had happened recently. Hesitantly, he reached out a hand to touch his son's cheek-

A hand clasped his and batted it away. Anakin froze at the speed that his son had moved without opening his eyes. His heart thudded wildly and it was as if someone had suddenly robbed his voice.

Luke snorted. "Weak," he muttered, his voice almost unrecognisable as his eyes opened and Anakin felt no surprise only horror at the yellow eyes of his son. Luke's gaze swept over him, cool and calculating. "Always weak," he muttered, letting go of Anakin's hand.

"I'm not the one trapped in a child," Anakin spat, shifting to avoid stepping back out of instinct. "He says this hurts him."

"No," the thing inside his son said. "He is asleep. He knows nothing of this."

In some strange way that seemed to make it worse. "You're sure?" Anakin asked.

"He never has."

Something dropped out the bottom of Anakin's stomach at that comment and those yellow eyes seemed to note the reaction, contempt blazing out in a way that Luke's sweet expression could never hope to replicate. Then Luke turned, casting a look around the room with an imperious air of disgust.

It took Anakin a few attempts to say it. "You…you're what I would have become."

"I was born in your destruction." Luke's body didn't even turn towards Anakin. "The boy was born to me, not you."

For a second, Anakin couldn't begin to think of a response. "You hurt him," he said, feeling his anger rise suddenly. "Back…before he came here. He had nightmares-"

Luke's hand flexed and then an annoyed breath was released as Luke turned back towards him. "Do not speak of it," came the order. "You wish to get the boy out. Away from this…" again there was a pause. "Make them suffer for hurting him."

Yes.

He wanted it so much, he could almost taste it. But in front of him was a walking, talking planet wide advertisement of what would happen if he indulged that urge. Whatever was on his face made Luke sneer and shake his head.

"I want Luke safe," Anakin said carefully. "Ahsoka and I-"

"Your situation has not changed," Luke dismissed with a pointed jab of his hand. "Only your desperation. Desperation will not save my son."

Anakin pressed his lips together. "And your plan?"

"Wipe them out."

It was said with such a simplistic quality that Anakin struggled to think of a reply. "I…" he looked down at the cuffs on his wrists. "I can't."

"I can."

No. "You will not put Luke in danger," Anakin hissed. "There are no weapons. He'll be injured-"

"I'm aware," came the cold response. "I have less concerns about you being injured. That body has coped with worse than a few blasters."

Stupidly, his first reaction was to be affronted at the idea he was a body to pick out like some kriffing suit shop that Padme had once pointed out.

Then fear.

"Good," the thing in Luke said, tilting his head ever so slightly. "That will be useful."

"The cuffs-"

All he received in response was a small smile.

Xxx

Luke woke like surfacing from water.

There was a dizzying sensation when he almost forgot what air and light and above felt like, the rippling effects fooling him into not being entirely sure how close to being awake he was, only the awareness that he was heading for it. Then there was the sudden freedom, the bursting out and opening his eyes and-

Empty.

It made him almost fall to his knees. He would have if it wasn't for the strong grip on his upper arm, holding him upwards and steady. He leaned his head forward, pressing into his Dad's thin shirt and panting, breathing in the smell of him, the familiar earthiness that always made him feel safe.

An unsure hand touched his hair, almost clumsy, then rested upon his head, heavy but grounding.

Something was wrong.

He knew it in the way that his father stood, in the awkward comfort he gave, in the deep silence that hung around them. They could have been standing in the burnt-out wreckage of his mother's apartment.

But Luke was awake.

Part of him wanted to be sick. To cry and hide and beg for Dad, and another part wanted to fling himself up at this tangible presence of his father, at the man who had been with him for four years.

Mostly though, he wanted to run.

But he forced himself to do it. To look up slowly, and finally see the yellow eyes that looked down at him and the almost expressionless face of Vader.

A firm hand gripped his chin suddenly, tilting his face from side to side in a manner that was a little too demanding and something flared in the man's eyes.

"You are afraid."

"Is he…is Dad gone?" Luke asked, voice wobbling.

Annoyance spread across Vader's face and he looked away even as the room started to shake-

The cuffs.

He pulled away and scanned the room quickly, and there, on the floor in a crumpled mess of metal, still smoking from whatever had been done to them, was the remains of the cuffs and both their collars.

"You will stay close," Vader order, pointing a finger at Luke. "You will not stray."

 _You will tell me what I need to know._

Luke nodded, not looking properly at him. Anything, anything to get out of the room and away from having the full weight of Vader's gaze directed at him.

A pull yanked him closer, the force firm but carefully aimed at him, as of Vader wasn't fully sure he could pull someone close without hurting them. Then, as if he still had a legion at his back and a lightsabre at his side, Vader strode towards the door that swung open for him with ease.

The two guards on either side didn't even have a chance to turn their heads. They were yanked up and into the wall with such a force that a blood-stained mess of bone and fur remained on the walls as they slid down.

The next three guards that they met faced much the same fate. The one after that tried to prod Vader with one of the electrostaffs, but lost it within a second.

The more Zygarrians they faced, the greater Vader's hate and anger seemed to grow. Blaster bolts were stopped mid-air and the few that were aimed at Luke rather than Vader was like lighting up a fuse bomb.

 _The hull of the ship ripped apart like it was made of cardboard boxes and then the air lit up with blaster bolts and smoke as some found a target and hit. Amid it all, the dark, menacing figure stepped up, gloved hand held up to deflect some bolts carelessly as Doug was pulled from behind Luke and dangled in the air, hands clutching and clawing desperately at his throat._

 _"Which," the mechanical voice asked, "is the one that Kenobi left with you?"_

 _"I don't know a Kenobi," Doug gasped, "I swear."_

 _There was an irritated noise and then Doug's body jolted and the corpse was dropped to the floor as the figure strode closer._

Luke opened his eyes and stared ahead. At some point, he had clasped his hands over his ears and sunk down next to a wall, as if he could hide from what was happening. Unseeing eyes all stared in blank horror and broken bodies littered the floor as Vader continued on his one man path of destruction. The smell of burning flesh and fur made Luke want to gag and he sucked in a breath, trying to bury his face in his knees and get rid of the sight in front of him.

He could feel Vader. The man was a few rooms away, the swirling glee of vengeance making Luke try and press into the wall. The room he was in remained silent, only the dead remained with him.

He didn't know how long he sat. Long enough for some of the pooling blood to reach his bare feet and the sensation caused him to snap his head up and stare at the image, his heart skittering manically in terror.

A blood curdling scream echoed in the distance. Agony and terror almost seemed to bounce along the walls and his toes were getting sticky from the blood.

"Luke?"

The voice was distant and dim as if coming from a galaxy away.

"Luke?"

There were gentle hands on him, cupping his cheek then lifting him out from where he'd been sat. But his toes were still sticky…

A face appeared in his field of vision. Large blue eyes and orange skin with paler markings and pale scars glinting a little in the light.

Ahsoka.

She was kneeling in front of him, hands on his upper arms and looking worried.

She'd killed. He could feel it.

The knowledge made him start to shake. There was death. Everywhere he looked, everything he could feel was death and he couldn't find his shields or feel his father within him keeping him safe. And all he could see was Vader coming up the ramp to kill him.

He thought he might have been lifted but the image was over taking everything. Black gloved hand raising and curling into a fist-

He'd been in his mind. He'd ripped it open.

Luke couldn't breathe.

He was coming. Vader was coming for him. Walking forward and lifting both him and the girl with him up into the air Then later, hand raised and the slicing sensation in his head that paralysed him because he couldn't even work out how to defend himself and the horror of being so helpless and so vulnerable was almost as bad as the pain-

He was coming.

Luke shoved.

It was like pushing out a wave, catching it at the right moment and then harnessing it and for a moment the power and rightness of it dizzied him. But He was still there and turning His attention to Luke.

He tried to do it again, tried to throw anything he had at repelling Vader-

The crashing wave he got back made him see stars and made the world wobble and tremble before vanishing completely. But, somewhere in the distance, he heard a horrified scream.

xxx

Ahsoka woke to chaos.

It was early in the morning, earlier than anyone in the fighting pits rose to train them. Too early for her even to rise and start her morning meditation, Anakin's plan in her mind even as she shoved away the fearful voice that was certain this time would be the same as any other attempt.

The guards were being woken with frantic, terrified shouts. Some calling to go to the palace, more determined to find pilots to leave.

Opposite, Kanan stood, eyes wide as he scanned what was happening and the stared at her. "Is this..." he trailed off, unsure.

"I guess so," she said because whatever Anakin was doing, it seemed to be working. She nodded at the doors and tried to not feel the stab of desperate envy at the way he could undo the doors with the force and then paused to disconnect his collar.

Kanan waved a hand at her cell doors and it opened up with annoying ease. "What is he doing?" Kanan asked, wobbling a little. "It's… I've never felt anything like this before."

"Anakin is strong," Ahsoka said and then stopped and turned back to him. "Wait… can you feel him?"

"I…" Kanan licked his lips and made an odd noise. "That's not a Jedi," he whispered, eyes widening. "That can't be a Jedi."

Ahsoka glared down at her cuffs and then bent to pick up a weapon one of the guards had left behind, just as another started down their prison strip and then shouted the alarm at seeing them out of the cells. "Stang it," she muttered, activating the electric stick. "We need to get inside that palace."

Xxx

Getting to the palace wasn't easy, but given that most people were running from it, not as hard as she had thought it would be that night. The sun was barely up; the light still murky and the air still chilled from the lack of it.

Even with the force cuffs repressing her connection, Ahsoka could feel it. Something dark and horrifying, a black hole that was wreaking havoc on the palace. Most that had fled had already done so but there was the odd terrified Zygerrian fleeing down the steps or through the high halls.

The first room made Ahsoka stop.

It was a mess. As if someone had walked through with a bomb or with a hungry pack of wild beasts. Limbs and blood were strewn across the room and some looked as if they had been burned, other stabbed.

Next to her, Kanan took a step backwards.

"We need to find Anakin and Luke," Ahsoka said and then nodded, gritting her teeth. "If this is a sith, then he's looking for Luke."

"We don't have any lightsabers," Kanan hissed desperately. "This is a suicide mission-"

"I'm not leaving without them," Ahsoka snapped. "If you want to go, then go."

There was a moment when she almost thought he would. Then, with a deeply irritated sigh that sounded like it came from someone much older than Kanan, he nodded and warily stepped forward, gaze darting around the room like he was searching for boobytraps.

It took three more rooms to spot Luke.

It was Kanan that saw him first and Ahsoka stopped, almost unable to process what she was seeing. Luke was older, his hair a mess of dark strands and finer, lighter roots. He was ice white and his eyes large and glassy with shock, body quivering like a dying baby bird. He was bruised and filthy, dressed thinly and his bare feet were splashed with blood.

A lot of him was splashed with blood.

"Luke?" she called, breaking out of the shock and racing over to him, almost heedless of any other danger. "Luke?"

He didn't respond. He was so cold to touch and she looked around because where was Anakin? There was no way he could leave his son like this, no way that he wouldn't be with Luke, comforting him.

There was nothing in the room but bodies.

"Luke?" She touched his chin this time, but he dimly pushed her away, without even seeming to acknowledge that she was there.

She lifted him, moving him away from the bodies as best she could and then stood him up, kneeling in front of him as she'd seen Anakin do a few times, hands rubbing his arms to get feeling and warmth into the boy. "You've gotten taller, baby skyguy," she tried.

Luke blinked down at her and then beyond, face still completely disassociated with what was happening. His breathing even sharper and quicker than it had been on the floor.

"Ahsoka," Kanan warned suddenly. "I…" he had narrowed his gaze on Luke as he stepped forward. "He feels…different."

"Different?"

"He isn't shielding," Kanan said, stepping forward again and eyeing Luke up like he was some priceless artefact. "It's…" he winced. "It's like looking at a sun," he added, fascinated.

He wasn't shielded.

Anakin was nowhere in sight.

"No," Ahsoka whispered, turning her head and still holding onto Luke. "Force alive, no."

"What?"

She couldn't explain it to him. Not now. Didn't even know where to begin or have the knowledge to be able to pinpoint exactly how bad it was.

In the next half a second, she couldn't even speak. Something pushed out and she found herself skidding backwards, winded and seeing wave streaks of black even as she heard Kanan gasp in agony.

Ahsoka had barely risen to her feet when the wave happened again and there was the strangest sensation of not really knowing what was up and down or right and then it was gone.

Both Luke and Kanan were on the floor unconscious and Ahsoka glanced at both of them as she struggled to collect her breath and push herself up. Stunned by how exhausted she felt, she found herself crawling over to Luke to check. She wasn't even too sure what she was checking for, only that she let out a relieved sigh when she felt his breath and saw his chest move. Kanan was more obviously breathing and seemed unharmed…

She needed to move them. Needed to find a place to easily protect both boys. And she needed-

A prickling on her skin made her look back and then stole her breath.

Anakin stood in the doorway. Dressed as if to go to bed, he was soaked in blood. He was breathing deeply and looked almost as pale as Luke had.

"He's in you," Ahsoka whispered.

Slowly, Anakin nodded, even as his eyes darted around the room. "I did this," he whispered. "I…" his gaze fell on Luke and he stumbled forward, breath coming harsher now. "I did this."

She didn't know what to say. Instead, she found herself with a hand on Luke's chest, listening to Anakin's unsteady breaths and the deathly silence of the once bustling palace.


	9. Chapter 9

The scout ship they'd taken was small but functional. He was dimly aware of Ahsoka at the controls and of a brief conversation about where they would go that Anakin ignored as he pulled his son tighter to him.

He sat on the floor, back against the ship's hull, the blood on his shirt almost stuck to the metal. His son was cradled in his arms, sweat matted hair under Anakin's chin and he'd counted Luke's breaths for so long that he'd almost forgotten he didn't need to do it.

Across from him, Kanan was sat in almost the same position, but was staring warily over. He'd woken up after they'd lifted off and Anakin hated him a bit because Luke hadn't.

Luke.

It was a blurred jumble what had happened after Vader had taken him over. Flashes of screaming figures and the deep satisfaction of the Queen trying to crawl away from him. He didn't regret what he'd done to them. Couldn't. They were slavers, they'd kept him from his family, hurt his Padawan, abused his son. They'd deserved to die.

But among the images there were flashes of Luke. Of his son skittering back from him, of the rising distress that had been muffled as he marched through the palace. And of Luke's sudden attack and Vader's violent response.

It was as if Luke had thrown something at him in fear and Vader had simply responded to the attack by throwing it back at Luke three times as hard. The shock and horror had wobbled Vader, diminished him in Anakin's head enough that he'd managed to take control again.

He brushed his lips through Luke's hair again, holding on tighter to Luke than perhaps he could, but he couldn't cope with the idea of not holding his son. Somewhere in him, there was a flicker of confused relief too, as if Vader found such contact baffling even as he longed for it.

He had Vader in him.

As best he could, Anakin pushed the thought away and shifted his head against Luke, brushing against his son's mind carefully.

This time there was a little spark and then shields came crashing down, forcing Anakin out. It would have hurt if it hadn't been such a relief – he'd been half convinced that Vader had destroyed Luke's mind.

 _Again_ something in his mind whispered.

His vision jumped and wavered as he pulled back and tilted Luke's head a little so that he could study his son's face. Slack in unconsciousness and still pale, Anakin found himself almost holding his breath as he waited.

Then there was a twitch and Luke shifted ever so slightly, his first movement since Anakin had swept the boy into his arms at the palace.

"Come on," he whispered, cupping Luke's face gently. "Come on."

For a moment, it was as if there was nothing there. Then Luke's eyes snapped open and he stared up at Anakin blankly.

"Hi," Anakin whispered, stroking Luke's cheek with his thumb.

Luke drew in a ragged breath.

"It's me," Anakin said, feeling the tears spill over and down his face. "I promise you, it's me."

Slowly, Luke nodded and then turned his face into Anakin's neck, shaking. Curling around him, Anakin smoothed his hand over Luke's back and rocked him gently.

The quiet footsteps of his former Padawan echoed as Ahsoka crept over and knelt down opposite. "Luke?" she said gently.

There was a violent urge to shove her away and back. But Anakin swallowed it, banging his head against the ship's hull as Luke shifted and turned to look at her.

"Where's your mother?" Ahsoka asked in that same careful tone. "I need a destination."

Padme.

The split of longing and terror dizzied him.

"Yavin four," Luke said slowly. He nuzzled his head into Anakin's chest. "Mom showed Leia a piece of paper."

"Leia?" Ahsoka asked, glancing at Anakin.

"My sister," Luke replied before Anakin could formulate the words. "I can feel her. She's…" he tilted his head and then a small smile crossed his face. "Annoyed."

"Annoyed?" Ahsoka asked.

Luke blinked and then pulled away from Anakin's arms a little in a move that made Anakin want to protest. "Leia's always annoyed," Luke muttered.

Ahsoka stayed still for a second or two then smiled oddly before she stood and made her way back to the controls.

"You can sense her?" Anakin asked, reaching out to brush back a stray strand of Luke's hair. He frowned at the dark ends and the pale roots before darting his gaze to Luke's eyes.

Luke nodded and pressed his lips together as he shifted fully out of Anakin's arms and twisted to face him, so that they were sat opposite. Then he turned to glance over his shoulder and whatever was on his face made Kanan looked away and then stand and walk with an unsteady gait to slide into the co-pilot seat at Ahsoka's side.

"Can… can you feel him?" Luke asked quietly, dropping his gaze and pressing his fingers into the metal floor of the ship.

"No." Anakin looked over his head, not wanting to speak about such matters with the child.

But Luke's shoulders dropped and he looked away almost as if…disappointed?

It shocked him. He'd never considered that Luke might feel…fondness for Vader. Not from the way the boy flinched and curled away from the very mention of Vader.

He closed his eyes and felt the faintest hints of sleep creep upon him at the motion.

 _He never has_

Anakin's eyes snapped open in fear and Luke glanced over startled. Covering, Anakin reached for Luke and pulled him close again.

Do not sleep.

Xxx

By the time the ship landed, Anakin felt the exhaustion creeping up his bones and a tight churning of fear deep in his stomach. Yet Luke had seemed to gain colour and confidence as they drew closer, quivering with energy and eyes distant.

Anakin didn't dare reach out. Didn't dare reach into the force even if he missed it like a limb.

The noise of the ship landing sounded out like a prison cell docking.

His son was down the landing pad before it even reached the ground and Anakin moved needing to keep the boy in sight, yet dreading what was coming.

It was green. Lush and dew sprinkled and, standing not three feet from the ramp was his wife, already opening her arms for Luke to fling himself into. Padme cupped Luke's hair, curling over him and he sucked in a breath when he spotted her short hair, still thick and beautiful yet only falling to her shoulders. She was in rough clothes and Luke came up to her shoulders as she murmured something to him.

It soothed some…strange ache in him. To see Padme and Luke, together in this way.

Still, he wasn't prepared for Padme to look up and just…freeze. The shock on her face made his heart thud wildly and Anakin almost took a step back. They stared at each other, Padme's hand shaking where it held Luke's head and she shifted, almost now looking as if she was clinging to Luke for support.

He moved without even realising it. By the time he was conscious of anything but Padme's rich brown eyes, he was halfway down the ramp and Luke was pulling away from Padme to step to one side.

Padme reached for Anakin with a shaking hand as his feet hit the earth and he glanced down, dimly surprised to realise for the first time that he wasn't wearing shoes. The feeling of wet grass was unfamiliar and he stared down surprised, looking up only when Padme's shaking hand touched his cheek.

"Ani?" she whispered, almost as if he might be a figment of her longing. And the touch of her hand, more calloused then he remembered was enough to break through the fear that half paralysed him, made him sweep forward and pull her close to him, hand buried in her short hair and pressing his lips to her skin, to any part of her.

She cupped his face, pulling his gaze to hers and then leaning their foreheads together. "You're here," she whispered. "You're alive."

He nodded, not entirely sure he agreed.

Xxx

Padme had set up a household in one of the ancient temples on the moon. The architecture was dizzyingly similar to Zygarrians, yet the furnishings inside were softer, less rich and more comforting.

He'd been given a chance to bathe, to throw away the clothes that he'd been given as a prisoner that were still drenched in blood. The clothe he wore were not his own still, but closer to what he'd been used to.

He stood in the archway of the temple, hands behind his back and trying to find that peace, the one that he'd been trained for so long to find before his exercises. He needed to be calm, unthreatening. He needed Vader to be little more than a distant flicker of candle flame in the forest.

Padme was close, watching him. He could feel it. Could feel her disbelief, her joy, her concern. Her longing to help. Her love. He reached for it, lost himself in it for a moment.

 _They were on Coruscant. His wife was brushing her long curls, dressed in a flowing, thin nightgown that was more lace and frills than he'd ever seen her in, but which covered her swollen belly with ease and he smiled, leaning against the wall because she'd looked nervous at him coming with her to the apartment._

 _His wife was being silly. As if he'd think her any less beautiful because of her changing figure. Their child._

 _"Ani, I want to have our baby in Naboo-"_

The image faded and he sucked in a breath, swallowing hard.

"Ani?"

For a moment, he thought that he was still in the vision, but her hand slipped into his very carefully and he mentally shook himself, curling his fingers around hers before he turned. Older, more worn but still astonishingly beautiful, he pulled her close, gently and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"You're quiet," she said gently.

Yes. He looked away and then sighed. "I can barely process it all," he whispered. Then cupped her cheek. "I feel like I should wake up and still find you pregnant and everything…as it was."

"I know." She leaned into him and then kissed his palm. "Do you still want to do this tonight?"

Yes. He nodded fiercely and then huffed in annoyance when she searched his eyes. "She's my daughter," he said, the words still feeling awkward in his mouth. "I want…" he drew in a frustrated breath. "I have missed more than enough, Padme."

"Okay," she said and turned. He followed her gaze and then sucked in a breath.

Luke stood by the doorway, hair washed and the dye in his hair faded. Cheeks pink and soft looking and dressed in pyjamas. In his arms, was a little girl, dark hair curling at around her ears and shoulders in thick waves that mirrored Padme's. Big brown eyes were staring at him curiously and her delicate mouth was pursed in thought as she tiled her head a little.

Leia.

Luke stepped forward and Leia turned her head back to him, staring at him and Luke smiled and nodded. Then Leia swung her head back around to Anakin, almost as if she was examining him.

Padme stepped forward, scoping Leia up in one arm and resting a hand on Luke's shoulder and it stole his breath to see the three of them together, his family.

His wife stepped into his space, Leia still staring at him and then he was holding her and she was in his arms, those beautiful brown eyes huge and locked on him.

She was so big. Tiny but not the infant that he'd imagined. Curious and with intelligent eyes that were fixed carefully in his and she had the look of his mother about her.

His daughter.

She turned to look back at Luke, almost as if she was asking a question and then, as if satisfied with the answer, Leia leant in to Anakin, humming a little, as if weighing up the comfort he was giving her before her little body relaxed against him.

Carefully, as if he might break her, Anakin pressed a gentle kiss to her head and shifted her. Then looked up as Padme stood behind Luke, a smile on her face even as tears ran down her face.

"Leia," Anakin whispered, breathing her in. With his spare hand, he traced the tiny fingers that were currently slowly tightening into his shirt and tried to imagine them even smaller. It was almost impossible.

Stars, he'd missed so much, he thought as he glanced over at Luke and Padme again.

So much.

Xxx

Anakin seemed fascinated by Leia; he sat with her on the bed as she babbled away to him and pointed at various small toys that she had. And she could barely wrap her head around it all except that Luke was obviously not all right and it gave her focus because he needed to come first.

Her poor boy.

She'd seen the burns when she'd taken him to the bath. The cuts and the far too visible ribs. Luke was always on the slight side; it was his natural build, but it did mean he stumbled into skinny territory far too easily for her liking.

But it was his wariness around Anakin that made her nervous.

"What happened?" she asked, sitting on the makeshift bed and reaching out for his hand.

"Zygerrians were nerfherders," Luke muttered, not meeting her eyes but drawing his knees up to his chest.

"Luke."

Her son breathed in a long sigh and then looked up at her, almost as if weighing something up.

She continued to stare at him, unimpressed.

Then his eyes brightened slightly and he bit at his lip. "Vader…he's gone." Then he closed his eyes. "He's in Dad."

No.

Her stomach churned a little and she found herself gripping onto Luke's hand a little too tight, desperate to remind herself of what she needed to focus on right now. She waited, knowing Luke well enough that he'd get there in his own time.

"He…he killed them."

She didn't need to ask who. "In front of you?" she asked, wishing now that she'd spoken to Ahsoka earlier before she'd gone to sleep, obviously exhausted and on the brink of collapse.

Luke slowly nodded and then met her eyes. "He hunted us like that," he whispered. "I…I miss having him in here," he said, touching his forehead gently. "But I don't want him in Dad," he added, tears starting to drip down his face and Padme shifted forward, wrapping her arms around him as he son started to shake against her.

"Baby," she whispered, her heart starting to pound. Anakin had seemed…quiet, distant. She'd assumed that it was because he was exhausted and too much was happening at once, but maybe…

"You don't worry about it," she told him. "Understand. Your father and I…we're going to work this out."

Luke sighed against her. "He hates Dad," he mumbled into her shoulder. "He liked me."

Stars. She held him a little tighter, trying to summon the strength for the next conversation she'd have to have. "It'll be all right," she said, determined to make it true. "We'll make it all right. I promise."

It took him an hour to cry himself out and get to sleep. And, in that time, she kept her eyes on the holo-feed of Anakin with Leia in the other room, trying to work out exactly what she needed to do next.


	10. Chapter 10

AN: Apologies for the delay. Next story should be up in a few weeks :)

* * *

Chapter Ten

She stood at the doorway to the room, watching.

Anakin lay asleep on the bed, Leia tucked up close to him and she felt a rising joy because seeing father and daughter together was… she'd dreamed of it for so long. The daughter that Anakin had whispered about, had always wanted, had scrunched her face into his neck and a little fist gripped his shirt like it was a lightsabre.

In so many ways, Leia was his. Stubborn, wilful, determined, independent and always barrelling on ahead of expectations and boundaries.

It didn't surprise her when Anakin stirred. Nor did it surprise her terribly when his eyes opened to reveal not his usual blue gaze, but an amber gaze, visible in the half light of the room.

Instead, she waited. Let him gaze at her for a long lingering moment before his attention switched to the child on his chest and she could see something jolt through him. A nervous, unsure hand came up to touch Leia's hair, barely touching as if he feared he might hurt her.

"She was shot," he said eventually, not looking at her, eyes hidden as he stared at Leia instead. "Bounty hunters walked through the palace, destroying everything. They didn't protect her."

Force. She stared at her daughter, determined suddenly to have her in her arms, but suddenly not sure how Anakin…Vader would react. "And Luke?"

His hand dropped away from Leia and he looked as if he would stand, but suddenly seemed to realise that would require moving their daughter. It would have been funny in other circumstances, but she simply swept forward, lifting Leia into her arms and shushing the sleepy protest, all the while avoiding Vader's gaze.

She froze when he reached for her, looked up to see him staring at her, eyes almost back to normal, but he wasn't Anakin. She knew from the way he moved, the expression on his face.

The fact that his gloved metal hand rested lightly on her throat.

"So many years," he murmured, his hand spiderwebbing out, his thumb by her chin and fingers spread from her cheek to her throat, not with pressure but with the potential of threat. "So many years I believed it was I who killed you."

She couldn't stop her reaction, the sucked in breath and the immediate step backwards. He followed her, still without pressure, but clearly intent on making some kind of point. "You betrayed me," he said, taking another step forward. "You brought Obi-Wan to kill me."

She refused to back up further. "What had you done?" she asked, meeting his eyes and shifting their daughter.

He considered that. "I slaughtered them," he said after a moment. "All the Jedi, the padawans, the younglings. All to save you."

"And what did you do?" she said, heart fluttering at the idea. Anakin, her Anakin…she couldn't see how they could ever have gotten to this point.

When the fingers of his hand tightened, just a little, she knew she had her answer. "While I was pregnant?" she breathed, vision jumping and the feeling of tears on her cheek startled her. "You made them come early."

"I don't know," he replied with a whisper. "For all I know, Obi-Wan cut them out of you."

"How can you not know?" she asked, unable to keep the disbelief out of her voice.

There. A flicker of shame for the first time. "I fought him," he said, turning away, his hand leaving her. "You were…on the floor."

She shifted Leia who was definitely awake now and wondered exactly what her daughter could sense. "How wonderful the priorities of both sith and Jedi are," she muttered sarcastically. "And now? You intend to do what? Take my husband from me, from our children?"

"He," Vader said, rounding on her, "cannot protect you."

"And yet everything that happened, everything this family suffered only happened when you…" she broke off, not sure how to phrase it. "We don't need protection."

He let out a sneer of laughter. "You have no idea what he is, do you?" Vader asked, turning to her again. "The Emperor. What he creates. They will come for you, for them…" he trailed off suddenly eyes fixed behind her and of course, why had she imagined that Luke would stay asleep for this?

Vader took a step forward and Luke took a step back and she watched, caught between the two and feeling her heart shatter further when she spotted the confused look on Luke's face, as if he was feeling too much at once to even know how to react.

"Luke," Vader whispered and there was confusion there too. And in her arms, Leia turned into her further, little body trembling and she was sobbing quietly and starting to whisper for Padme as if Leia wasn't already in her arms.

They couldn't do this.

"Go," she said, closing her eyes, unable to believe the word was coming out of her mouth. She could feel the moment when Vader's furious gaze aimed at her.

"He is my child," he snapped, finger pointing at Luke demandingly. "Where I go, he will come. I will not allow-" he broke off when Luke stepped close to Padme, a silent protest and glanced at her worriedly.

She reached for him, gathering him in and wishing he'd stayed asleep when she could feel the trembling exhaustion still racing through him. Padme had a moment to spare to think of Anakin, how exhausted he'd been and how Vader being awake now wasn't helping him…

"They are children," she whispered. "And this…do you honestly want them to grow up with you?"

She'd meant as opposed to Anakin. She'd meant… she didn't know what, but Vader stared at her, eyes narrowed and she suddenly felt in more danger than she ever had before.

"You hurt me," she said, because this was it. Her battle with him and her children's…well not lives but well-being certainly depended on this conversation. "You left us. On the ground while you fought. You hurt our son. Whatever intentions you have about protecting us, you will always end up hurting us. As you are now."

Vader moved, hand reaching out and she tried to stop it as Luke was pulled from her, to him. He caught Luke in much the same way he'd held Padme by her chin and throat not five minutes ago and then stared down at the boy.

"You are frightening him," she said firmly, stalking forward, not really sure what she thought she would do. "You know that."

And Vader suddenly let go of Luke and stood staring down at his hand. The thumb and fingers rubbing together as if examining dust.

Then he looked at Padme, eyes blue and she hesitated, unsure suddenly as to who was within the body. But he said nothing as he abruptly stormed out of the room and she gathered up her children, not at all sure what they were going to do.

Xxx

It was dawn when Luke woke again, curled up with his mother and sister on the bed. And he wasn't sure what had woken him, except that something had. And Leia was stirring, eyes already blinking at him in confusion.

He picked her up and walked to the window where the rain was starting to fall and stared down at the ship below where Ahsoka and Dad were talking quietly. He was saying something firmly and she was nodding, though she didn't look too pleased about what she was nodding to.

The Dad looked up and they stared at each other. Then he felt a tenuous brush against his mind, like a featherlight kiss being places against his brow.

"Dada," Leia muttered and he'd guess that she felt it too.

Then the impression of Dad was gone and he turned into the ship, lightsabre on his belt and dressed fully in black, like he had been years ago when Luke had first seen him and like he would have been in Luke's future.

And they watched as the ship rose into the sky, movements neat and nimble before it started to gain speed and became a dot upon the skyline.

"Padme," Dad's voice came through the room and Luke turned, exhaustion creeping back in as he realised he was barely feeling anything at all in reaction. Mum was stood by the table, a miniature hologram of Dad standing upon it from a recorded message.

Dad seemed to be struggling to find the words. He sat on the edge of a stone seat, hands held in front of him and head almost bowed.

"You're right," he whispered and then looked up at the recording. "You're always right," he said with a weak attempt at a smile. "I can't believe I'm… I need to leave," he said in a tumble of words and Luke stood next to Mum and pressed into her. "Until I can work this out…" he gestured to his head. "Luke and Leia…He's frightened and she will be. Maybe there's a balance or something that can be done, but for now…" he shook his head and stared at them intently through the holo. "I won't have them grow up in fear of me. We both agree on that," he said and looked away for a moment. "But…I'll be close. If you need me…him…" Dad seemed to gather himself. "Ahsoka will stay with you. Vader isn't…happy, but has accepted it for now. Take the children back to Jedha," he suddenly looked hesitant. "Keep them from the Jedi, keep them from the sith. Force, keep them from the entire universe. I'll come when I can. When it's safe to."

Dad drew himself up a little. "And Padme…if I put my hands on you or them like that again, shoot me."

And with that, the hologram faded, leaving an empty table and Luke standing with his crying mother and scared sister and the already fading impression of his father.


End file.
